F1 champion Max Verstappen fears Red Bull budget cap issues

Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko at Imola — Photo: © IMAGO

Red Bull

Max Verstappen fears Red Bull budget cap issues

Red Bull were involved in a terrifying incident in Imola

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 19 May 2025 12:57

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Max Verstappen has voiced his concerns about Red Bull’s budget cap limit, following a huge incident at the Imola Grand Prix.

The four-time world champion was a contender for pole position on Saturday at the Emilia-Romagna GP, but was beaten by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, and the pair shared the front row of the grid for lights out in Italy.

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At the start of Sunday's race, Verstappen pulled off a scarcely believable overtake on the first lap to stun Piastri, and the Dutchman went on to claim the race victory.

Verstappen’s team-mate, however, suffered a huge shunt in qualifying, with Yuki Tsunoda spinning, causing his Red Bull car to flip upside down, before hitting the barriers.

The incident immediately brought out a red flag, and Tsunoda was seen walking out of the car whilst also being given the all-clear after precautionary checks in the medical centre.

Tsunoda’s Red Bull was destroyed on the right-hand side, and Verstappen has voiced his concerns over the impact the crash will have on the cost cap for the team.

"That was a big hit. The most important thing is that he's okay," he told the media including GPFans.

"But it's a lot of damage. Not ideal with the budget cap, but that's how it goes."

What is Formula 1's cost cap?

F1’s cost cap was first implemented in 2021, and limits the amount of money a team can spend on its cars over the course of a season.

The cap was introduced to prevent teams with larger budgets from consistently out-pacing smaller teams, in an attempt to level the playing field and emphasise sustainability.

Expenditure under the cost cap includes all parts of the car, the team personnel and garage equipment, all of which would have been stretched following Tsunoda's crash at Imola and creating further expense for the team to fix his Red Bull in time for Sunday’s grand prix.

F1’s current cost cap is set at $140.4 million (£106million) for 2025, and Red Bull were one of the first teams to have been found in a ‘minor’ breach of the rule after the 2021 season.

The team were hit with a $7million fine and a 10 per cent reduction in aero testing for the 2023 season as a result of the breach, and in subsequent seasons have complied with the cost cap.

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Red Bull Max Verstappen McLaren Oscar Piastri Yuki Tsunoda Imola Grand Prix