FIA set to take action after failed Red Bull F1 bid

FIA warning after Verstappen complaints regarding traffic — Photo: © IMAGO

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FIA set to take action after failed Red Bull bid

F1's governing body are set to take action after a Red Bull protest

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Thursday 24 July 2025 11:57

The FIA are set to take action after an unsuccessful protest was lodged by Red Bull at the Canadian Grand Prix last month.

This week, F1's governing body met for the third meeting this year of the F1 Commission, which was chaired by FIA Single-Seater Director Nikolas Tombazis and F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali.

Ahead of this weekend's Belgian GP, the topic of deposit fees for protests was raised after Red Bull attempted to have George Russell's Canadian GP win taken from him last month for his driving under safety car conditions.

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The outfit formerly led by Christian Horner claimed the Mercedes star had braked erratically under safety car conditions and 'displayed unsportsmanlike intent' for his team radio complaints about Max Verstappen.

The current sporting regulations mean F1 teams must pay a refundable deposit of €2,000 for a protest or a right of review, with an appeal priced at €6,000, which is only refunded if successful.

The Canadian GP protest was rejected by the FIA and Red Bull's protest deposit was forfeited, leading to an ongoing debate in the paddock over whether the protest fee should be increased in order to deter teams from making protests that did 'not warrant being reported to the stewards'.

Following this week's meeting, a report was released by the FIA that read: "It was agreed that the deposit fees for protests, appeals and right of reviews should be evaluated with a view to those fees being adjusted. The introduction of a fee for investigations was also discussed."

Red Bull attempted to have George Russell's Canadian GP win stripped by the FIA

Red Bull rivals head for F1 boost

A lot has changed since June's race in Canada but Red Bull's F1 rivals will gladly welcome the FIA's willingness to discuss the increase of protest fees.

After the process between Red Bull and Mercedes had been dealt with by the FIA in Montreal, Silver Arrows team boss Toto Wolff labelled the actions of their rival as 'petty' and 'embarrassing'.

Wolff then suggested a change needed to be made to prevent similar incidents in the future, saying: "They come up with some weird clauses, what they call clauses. I guess the FIA needs to look at that because it's so far-fetched it was rejected."

The message from Mercedes' team principal echoed one which had already been issued by fellow rival boss Zak Brown earlier this season, once again as a result of the actions of Red Bull.

McLaren previously faced allegations that they were using water to cool tyres during races, and although the papaya outfit were cleared over the matter, those allegations were understood to have come from Red Bull.

The incident led McLaren CEO Brown to suggest a larger deterrent was needed from the FIA, declaring back in May: "There's a proper way to protest a team at the end of the race, and you have to make it formal, disclose where it comes from, put some money down.

"I think that process should be extended to all allegations to stop the frivolous allegations which are intended only to be a distraction."

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

Red Bull FIA Canadian Grand Prix Stefano Domenicali Nikolas Tombazis