Former F1 driver turned pundit Martin Brundle believes the cost cap is a good idea to help the sport. However, the Briton, like many fans and members of the fraternity, wants an end to the Red Bull scandal.
While talking to Sky Sports F1, Brundle claimed that the cost cap would restrict teams, increasing the competition in return:
“I actually read the document on the plane yesterday – there’s 54 pages, it’s quite an interesting read. It’s quite a well written document, you do need to be an accountant or an auditor to understand some of the terms, but it’s there because we needed to stop the teams just spending themselves into oblivion. It’s a really good tool Formula 1 has put together, one of the cornerstones of what we are now doing in Formula 1 to save the teams from themselves.”
Brundle also added that it is disappointing that the FIA is still resolving the 2021 season. Wanting a solution to the situation soon, he claimed:
“But of course, everybody’s gone to ground because the process dictates that and it’s just bad for Formula 1 to have this hanging over us. Here we are [at COTA] and a magnificent event again, four in five weeks and we are talking about finances from last season. We all want it put it to bed and we’ll see what the penalties are. We have to assume there’s some negotiation going on behind the scenes a lot at the moment.”
Red Bull F1 was reported to be in breach of the 2021 cost cap. The team has exposed itself to at least six types of penalties but maintains they’re not guilty. The fraternity awaits the FIA’s decision, with many wanting a strict punishment for the Austrian outfit.
McLaren F1 boss pens letter to the FIA amidst the Red Bull cost cap fiasco
McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown has penned a letter to the FIA that demands a sporting penalty for the Red Bull team. The business giant claimed that breaking the budget cap ‘constitutes cheating.’
Red Bull’s main cost cap breach defense so far has been that there are gray areas, open to interpretation.
Meanwhile Zak Brown: “The #FIA have been unbelievably collaborative, communicative and clear. And if anything was unclear then the obligation was on the teams to ask.” #F1
Red Bull’s main cost cap breach defense so far has been that there are gray areas, open to interpretation.Meanwhile Zak Brown: “The #FIA have been unbelievably collaborative, communicative and clear. And if anything was unclear then the obligation was on the teams to ask.” #F1 https://t.co/mi40wBw7yJ
Admitting that only a financial penalty would be unsatisfactory, Brown wrote:
“We don’t feel a financial penalty alone would be a suitable penalty for an overspend breach or a serious procedural breach. There clearly needs to be a sporting penalty in these instances, as determined by the FIA.”
The 2021 season was the first year of the cost cap’s implementation. As Red Bull F1 has breached it already, many believe it will set a bad example for the sport. Rival camps have even claimed to be okay with overspending next year if Red Bull gets away with this.
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