Christian Horner is seeking closure on the cost cap issue in which his team Red Bull have been found guilty of a breach in the 2021 season. The Briton explained that a process is underway and that they are in discussions with the FIA, which will be made transparent soon.
Speaking at a press conference during the 2022 F1 US GP weekend, Horner said:
“The process as per the regulations is we’ve been invited to enter into an ABA which is, for a minor breach and procedural breach, that you have the opportunity to discuss with the FIA and present your case, your position. We are in that process and have been for pretty much the last 10 days or so, going backwards and forwards with the FIA.”
Expressing expectations of the issue being resolved over the weekend, Horner said:
“I hoped for it to be resolved before this weekend. I’m hopeful it can be resolved during this weekend, but should that not happen the next process is it goes to the cost-cap administration panel and then beyond that there’s the International Court of Appeal so it could draw it out for another six, nine months. Which is not our intention, we want closure on 2021. We’ve had some healthy and productive discussions with the FIA and I’m hopeful of being able to reach a conclusion in the near future.”
Red Bull have been declared guilty of a minor breach of the F1 cost cap regulations in 2021. Although the team was adamant that they were within the cost cap, there has been a conflict between their financial department and FIA’s independent auditors.
While their rivals may want the team to be penalized, the process allows Red Bull to further appeal the matter to the International Court of Appeal, which could take several months, according to Horner. The Briton clarified that they were in discussions with the regulatory body of the sport as they sought clarity and closure on the matter of the 2021 season cost cap breach.
Red Bull affirm there will be no secret deal with the FIA and assure complete transparency
Christian Horner believes that despite their confidential discussions with the regulatory body of the sport, there will be complete transparency regarding the decisions and due process that follow the cost cap breach. The Red Bull team chief clarified that there were misinterpretations regarding their submission, which will be explained in due time and made transparent to the public.
Suggesting that there would be no secret deal behind closed doors, Horner reiterated that their situation was different from Ferrari’s in 2019. The Italian constructor was found guilty of cheating and their agreement with the FIA remains undisclosed.
Explaining the situation at the time and their discussions, Horner said:
“What is the penalty? I can’t tell you that obviously, it’s a confidential discussion between ourselves and the FIA. What I will say is once hopefully this situation is concluded there will be complete transparency and I will talk you through the reasoning behind the submission and the position we had. Why we felt each of the line items that have been challenged, we believe there’s a contrary position. It should be transparent. The whole thing should be transparent. There’s not going to be a secret deal. I think it would be absolutely above board – this is very different from previous situations.”
Asserting that their team had not breached developmental costs in 2021, the Red Bull CEO explained:
“What have you got to look at is what are the relevant costs? And what are the relevant costs within the cap and what’s outside of the cap? That’s where the interpretation comes from. Our view is that our relevant costs are within the camp. Now obviously, we are in discussion with the FIA about what those costs are and what are mitigating potential circumstances. So we had zero benefit from a development perspective or an operational perspective, either for 2021 or for 2022.”
Horner believes that they have not benefited in their developmental and operational spheres by breaching the cost cap and that there has been a misinterpretation of their evaluation. Red Bull are currently in the process of discussing with the FIA, clarifying and reasoning their costs to further iron out any variations in interpretation in their submission. With the passing of Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz, the team will be taking a week-long break from the cost cap discussions with the FIA and will resume talks again around the 2022 F1 Brazil GP.
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