Alfa Romeo demand sporting, not financial, penalty for Red Bull cost cap breach
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen putting in the laps at Monza. Italy September 2022
Alfa Romeo principal Frederic Vasseur does not believe that a financial penalty will suffice regarding the 2021 overspend by Red Bull.
It is now over to the FIA to confirm the punishment which Red Bull will face for committing a ‘minor overspend breach’ of the 2021 cost cap, that up to five percent of the $145m limit for that season, the first where it was in operation.
Red Bull and the FIA have reportedly agreed on a penalty, though an announcement has been put on hold for now following the news that arrived on Saturday 22 October, shortly before qualifying for the United States Grand Prix, that Red Bull co-owner and Red Bull Racing founder Dietrich Mateschitz had died.
Once the FIA do reveal the penalty which Red Bull will face for busting the cap, Alfa Romeo want it to have an impact in a sporting way, rather than simply a fine.
There are a range of options available to the FIA, including fines and at the most severe, deducting championship points.
“The most important thing for me is that it is a good level of penalty, that it is not because we are in a rush that we have to do something like this and take a decision,” Vasseur told reporters.
“This is crucial for F1 and for the future of the cost cap and now it is in the hands of the FIA to find the right level of punishment.
“But for me, it has to be a sporting [penalty] because, at the end of the day, it is a sporting infringement. We are not speaking about a financial [penalty].
“We are speaking about an update and at the end of the day, we have to find the right level of punishment.”
Red Bull were not the only team to have been found in breach of the 2021 cost cap, that was the case for Aston Martin and Williams too, though in the case of those two teams, they committed a procedural breach, rather than overspending.
Williams’ fate was already decided earlier in the season, the team paying a fine of $25,000.
Aston Martin confirmed recently that they are now close to agreeing their punishment.
Read more: Mike Krack confirms Aston Martin close to agreeing FIA procedural breach penalty
