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Red Bull

Red Bull chief admits budget cap penalty may have given them an ADVANTAGE

The team were found guilty of a 'minor overspend' for 2021 and hit with a $7m fine

Dan Davis

Friday 18 August 2023 20:27

Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has revealed the team's technicians viewed their budget cap penalty as a 'personal attack' – and said that the motivation resulting from that may have actually been an advantage.

The heavyweight constructor were last year found to have committed a 'minor overspend' of the financial regulations and hit with a $7m (£5.5m) fine.

They are understood to have surpassed the £114m limit by around £1.8m, with the transgression deemed minor and not severe enough for a sporting penalty that may well have affected Max Verstappen's first drivers' championship title.

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The Milton Keynes outfit maintained they believed they were within the cap when submitting their accounts, with subsequent rule clarifications nudging them over the line. However, after talks with the FIA, they accepted their punishments.

Christian Horner labelled the penalty 'draconian', though Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur described the governing body's ruling as a 'big joke'.

Wache disagrees, though, and said the penalty did indeed hamper Red Bull.

Despite their punishment, Red Bull are dominating both standings this year

Penalty 'motivation'

"In our situation, to be honest, it is a disadvantage but it is an advantage to push the team to make sure that you don't explore useless stuff," he told Autosport.

"The efficiency of what you look at has to be reviewed, whereas before it was not as reviewed as much.

"It helps us also to be hungry because in the team and especially in the technical team, we don't understand getting this kind of penalty because we have done a good job.

"They take it as a personal attack, so they will do even a better job, and the motivation is even higher. I think there is some advantage for that."