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Martin Brundle has been left baffled at Christian Horner’s explanation of Red Bull’s budget cap breach. Horner claimed Red Bull had “categorically” not gained any performance advantages over their rivals despite spending more than the budget cap limit.
However, Brundle was confused over the comments as he suggested money overspent in a non-race department would still mean more cash could be used in other areas. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he said: “I thought it was a very good performance from Christian. I don’t buy into you can’t affect performance because otherwise you’ve got money to spend somewhere else.”
His remarks came after Horner defended the team’s actions in the team principal press conference ahead of qualifying. After being questioned on the breach, Horner said Red Bull had “absolutely not” gained any advantage on their rivals.
He explained: “What you’ve got to look at are what are the relevant costs and what are the relevant costs within the cap and outside the cap. That’s where the interpretation comes from. Our view is our relevant costs are within the cap.
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“We are in discussion with the FIA about what those costs are and what are mitigating potential circumstances etc… We had zero benefit from a development perspective or an operational perspective either for 2021 or for 2022 from the way that we operated it within the cap.
“Our submission was significantly below the cap. We expected certain things to be challenged or clarified in the process in a brand new set of regulations. He added: “We absolutely and categorically do not feel we have had any advantage either in 2021 or 2022 or 23’ or 24.”
Red Bull’s rivals have hit back at Red Bull’s claims with many suggesting any overspend could lead to on-track gains. McLaren boss Zak Brown has been one of the most vocal, claiming spending more would constitute “cheating”.
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In a leaked letter, the McLaren CEO stressed a team who spent more money would have an “unfair advantage” over their competitors. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has also claimed breaking the cap could have had a “big impact” on last year’s title fight.
Red Bull’s penalty for breaching F1’s budget cap is yet to be announced by the FIA. It is believed the penalty is unlikely to be anything substantial as the team did not break the cap by more than five per cent.
But, Brown has pushed for Red Bull to lose 20 per cent of their wind tunnel and CFD testing allowance. Meanwhile, Ted Kravitz has also suggested other team bosses are calling for Red Bull to be thrown out of the constructors’ standings and lose their prize money.
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