The release of the budget cap report casts a shadow over Red Bull’s celebrations. The team is facing the threat of being docked points, more penalties are in the offing

For the first time ever, budget caps were introduced for last year’s Formula 1 season. But not all teams were able to meet them. A report on the budget caps published recently showed that Red Bull exceeded the allowed cap by $5 million. So what punishment does the Austrian team face?

Prior to the Singapore Grand Prix, rumours began to circulate that two teams had breached the budget caps. And the two most talked about were Red Bull and Aston Martin.

Christian Horner, the Red Bull boss, strongly denied the allegations. He leaned mainly on Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, whom he threatened with legal action for “defamatory and fabricated statements”.

Wolff was backed up by Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto. He also pointed out that exceeding the $145 million limit would affect future seasons.

There are different penalties for breaking the budget cap rules. From financial penalties to the loss of points in the Constructors’ Cup and the Drivers’ Championship. And it was Binotto and Wolff who called for the harshest penalties.

The FIA published its report on the budget ceilings on Monday 10 October and the result was clear. Red Bull has not complied with the budget ceiling. However, it committed a less serious offence of exceeding the cap by less than $5 million.

Binotto speculated that such an amount could make the monoposto up to 5 tenths of a second per lap faster. Wolff commented that his team had a new lightweight chassis planned, but they fell $2 million short of their budget.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem thus has a daunting task ahead of him. How he will resolve the situation is not yet clear. But only a financial penalty is expected, or a reduction in the time allowed in the wind tunnel.

Aston Martin and Williams also committed procedural errors. The other seven teams received certificates from the FIA for compliance with the rules.

Sources: FIA, Motorsport, Autosport