RED BULL face an anxious wait to discover if they will be slapped with financial AND sporting penalties as the F1 cost-cap row reignites at the US GP.
The Milton Keynes-based team can wrap up the constructors’ championship at this weekend’s race in Austin, Texas.
However, that risks being overshadowed by the punishment dished out by the FIA after they deemed Red Bull breached the £114million spending limit last year.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner was informed that his team failed to meet the cost cap just an hour after Max Verstappen won the title in Japan 11 days ago.
The hammer blow was delivered by a phone call from FIA interim secretary general for motorsport Shaila-Ann Rao.
She has only been in the role since June having previously worked for Red Bull’s rivals, Mercedes, for three and a half years. Red Bull maintain that their submission was under the limit when they filed the accounts in March.
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However, SunSport understands they feel the goal posts have since changed with clarifications over parts produced for historical vehicles and those produced for their current F1 cars.
Red Bull have also bungled their submission, as they included a canteen bill for the whole of their UK campus, rather than the staff directly associated with the production of their F1 cars.
Further complications come in the clarification for employees placed on gardening leave and those on sick pay.
It has resulted in an overspend, estimated to be around £1.8million, triggering a ‘minor’ breach of the regulations, but way short of the £10million initially mooted.
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Red Bull now face a dilemma of whether to sign up to the FIA’s punishment and admit their guilt, even though they insist their innocence.
It is believed that such a penalty will include a fine, plus possible reduction in windtunnel development or even a reduced budget for future seasons.
However, if they choose to appeal the FIA’s proposed penalty and take it to an independent panel of judges, they could risk an even-harsher penalty, should they fail.
The row has become even more complicated by the fact that Mercedes Toto Wolff has been so outspoken on the matter.
And McLaren’s CEO, Zak Brown, has also interfered in proceedings in a letter lobbying for the FIA to punish Red Bull, possibly compromising a fair decision.
The FIA say that Rao is in no way working in the cost-cap administration process and simply acting as a liaison between the two parties.
