Formula One champion Red Bull has been fined $7 million for breaching the budget cap last season and will spend 10% less time in the wind tunnel next year, governing body the FIA said on Friday.
In a statement ahead of this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) added that the decision taken by Red Bull is final and cannot be appealed.
The result meant Red Bull’s titles were safe. The team won the 2021 and 2022 drivers’ championships with Max Verstappen as well as this year’s constructors’ crown, their first since 2013.
The FIA said the British team exceeded the limit by 1.864 million pounds ($2.15 million), but the total would have been 432,652 pounds if it had correctly claimed the UK’s notional tax credit.
Formula 1 introduced the cap last year to curb runaway spending and level the playing field, with the total reduced from $145 million to $140 million this year. Next season, it’s supposed to be $135 million.
On 10 October, the FIA announced that Red Bull had a “minor transgression” and had also committed a “procedural breach”.
Aston Martin, owned by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, also admitted procedural violations and was fined $450,000.
Tunnel fine
The FIA’s Cost Cap Administration acknowledged that Red Bull Racing (RBR) cooperated during the review process and provided additional information and evidence upon request.