F1 World Champion Red Bull Guilty of 'Overspend Breach' of 2021 Cost Cap

Red Bull expresses surprise at the verdict while awaiting possible sanctions.

Red Bull Racing has been found to have breached Formula 1’s budget cap in 2021.

Financial Regulations were introduced for the first time in Formula 1 in 2021, with the limit set at $145 million per team, albeit with a raft of exclusions that include driver salaries, marketing and pay for the three highest-paid employees in the organization.

It was reported last month that two teams were in breach of the budget cap, and on Monday the FIA published the 2021 results of its review of teams’ submissions.

The FIA announced on Monday that it found Aston Martin in Procedural Breach while Red Bull was in Procedural Breach and a minor Overspend Breach. A minor Overspend Breach is considered to be up to 5% over the $145 million limit.

The FIA did not announce sanctions and is determining the appropriate course of action.

The FIA’s official statement:

The review of the Reporting Documentation submitted has been an intensive and thorough process, and all Competitors gave their full support in providing the required information to assess their financial situation during this first year of the Financial Regulations.

The FIA Cost Cap Administration notes that all Competitors acted at all times in a spirit of good faith and cooperation throughout the process.

The FIA would also note that with respect to this first year of the application of the Financial Regulations the intervention of the FIA Cost Cap Administration has been limited to reviewing the submissions made by the Competitors and that no full formal investigations were launched.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is awaiting the FIA’s sanctions for a cost cap breach in 2021.

Dan Istitene – Formula 1Getty Images

Red Bull, meanwhile, expressed disappointment in a statement it posted to social media:

“We note the findings by the FIA of ‘minor overspend breaches of the financial regulations’ with surprise and disappointment.

“Our 2021 submission was below the cost cap limit, so we need to carefully review the FIA’s findings as our belief remains that the relevant costs are under the 2021 cost cap amount.

‘Despite the conjectures and positioning of others, there is of course a process under the regulations with the FIA which we will respectfully follow while we consider all the options available to us.”

Red Bull’s statement posted to social media on Monday.

Red Bull