It’s a bit of a paradox: on the one hand, Formula 1 is growing. The supreme series in motorsport has reinvented itself in recent years. There’s more racing, more spectators and more excitement with new racing venues like Las Vegas, where Formula 1 will host a Saturday night race from 2023. On the other hand, the world motorsport association Fia is coming under increasing criticism because the set of rules has grown into a jungle that even professionals can hardly see through. And now Red Bull, the current world champion team, has violated the budget cap. Formula 1 is in a crisis, although on the other hand it is doing very well.
Review: Last Sunday, the complicated set of rules led to the curious situation that even after the end of the chaotic wet race in Suzuka, Japan, nobody really knew that Max Verstappen had become world champion again. Everyone expected that the full number of points would not be awarded because the race ended after 28 laps instead of the regular 53 laps due to a long interruption. However, a special paragraph in the regulations stipulates that full points can be awarded under certain conditions. Lo and behold, all of a sudden there was a party mood in the Red Bull camp. The team led by the exceptional Dutch driver had defended last year’s title.
It was a similarly curious title win as in 2021. The then race director Michael Masi made a decision (to release the race again shortly before the end) that made Verstappen and Red Bull more or less world champions and Mercedes with record driver Lewis Hamilton made it safe believed world title snatched at the last moment. Masi was then fired, and the Mercedes supporters are still foaming with anger.
You have to know that in order to understand what brew of anger, frustration and envy is boiling up again in Formula 1. The Fia is under pressure anyway because of its complicated set of rules and the 2021 World Cup decision. And now, with Red Bull’s breach of the budget ceiling, the next crisis is looming. The season has four races left and the question of what penalties the team will receive further poisons the atmosphere.
The procedure for punishing violations of the budget ceiling is complicated. Should Red Bull admit the violation, the matter is quickly settled and it would only be a question of the penalty. If Red Bull defends itself against the allegations, there is a long process before a Fia court. This can take a while.
After months of auditing, the Fia announced on Monday evening that Red Bull had exceeded the spending limit last year. The cost limit is intended to ensure more equal opportunities. The violation was a “minor” sum, the Fia said. Opinions differ widely on what “minor” is. According to the regulations, this is less than five percent of the permitted $145 million (around €150 million). That would still be up to 7.25 million.
The problem: The Fia has not announced how much Red Bull is over the limit. This fueled speculation about backroom deals. There are also critics such as Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto, who calculated that an additional investment of one to two million dollars can make a car up to 0.2 seconds per lap faster. That is a decisive advantage, for example in the fight for pole position. Experts pointed out that smaller teams like Alfa Romeo don’t spend much more than $2.5 million per season to develop their racing cars.
The catalog of possible penalties is far-reaching. Everything is possible, from a mere warning to the deduction of championship points in the driver or team rankings, a ban or a restriction on development tests to a lowering of the spending limit for the team. It is unlikely that Verstappen will be stripped of the 2021 title. In its announcement, the Fia pointed out that only a serious violation would automatically result in World Championship points being deducted. That sounds like a light punishment
Sources: DPA, “motorsport-total.com”, “spox”.
