Horner says cost cap breach accusations have become personal and that 'kids (of Red Bull employees) are being bullied in playgrounds'
- The FIA has confirmed that the Red Bull Formula 1 team eclipsed the sport’s $145 million cost cap in 2021.
- The Formula 1 paddock is patiently waiting on a penalty verdict that if too light could literally render a cost cap useless.
- Horner said that the penalty phase of the breach is ongoing, though the team principal declined to say if a possible resolution has been offered by the FIA.
Ahead of this weekend’s F1 United States Grand Prix, the FIA has confirmed that the Red Bull Formula 1 team eclipsed the sport’s $145 million cost cap in 2021.
The FIA calls it a ‘breach of financial regulations.’ The Formula 1 paddock is patiently waiting on a penalty verdict that if too light could literally render a cost cap useless. After all, if the penalty is merely a fine or a slap on the wrist, the cap will be toothless and will not keep the big teams from overspending.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown was a little more blunt, calling any breach “cheating” in a letter he admits he sent to the FIA. Brown said on Saturday at Circuit of the Americas that the letter was not directed at any one team in particular.
That’s not the way Red Bull team principal Christian Horner took Brown’s pointed comments.
“We’ve had sight of that letter, and it’s tremendously disappointing,” Horner said on Saturday at COTA. “For a fellow competitor to be accusing you of cheating, to accuse you of fraudulent activity, is shocking. It’s absolutely shocking that another competitor, without the facts, without any knowledge of the details, can be making that kind of accusation.”
Horner went on say that media reports accusing Red Bull of benefiting from the overspend are also way out of line.
McLaren’s Zak Brown and Red Bull’s Christian Horner address the media in Austin on Saturday.
Getty ImagesGetty Images
“We’ve been on trial because of public accusations since Singapore,” Horner said. “And the rhetoric of cheats, the rhetoric of … that we’ve had this enormous benefit, that the numbers have been put out in the media that are miles out of reality, and the damage that does to the brand, to our partners, to our drivers, to our workforce, in an age where mental health is prevalent, we’re seeing significant issues now, within our workforce.
“We’re getting kids that are being bullied in playgrounds that are employees’ children. That is not right, through fictitious allegations from other teams. And you cannot go around just making that kind of allegation without any fact, or substance. So, we absolutely are appalled at the behavior of some of our competitors.”
Horner said that the penalty phase of the breach is ongoing, though the team principal declined to say if a possible resolution has been offered by the FIA to the Red Bull team. Horner expects the final report and penalty to come with full transparency.
“I can’t tell you that obviously,” Horner said. “It’s a confidential discussion between ourselves and the FIA. What I will say is that once, hopefully, this situation is concluded there will be complete transparency and I will talk you through the reasoning behind our submission and the position that we had, as to why we felt that each of the line items that have been challenged we believe there’s a contrary position.
“So yes, and it should be transparent. The whole thing should be transparent. There’s going to be no private, you know, secret deal. I think it would all be absolutely above board. This is very different to a previous situation.”
As for Brown, he said on Saturday that he’s trusting the process.
“I think we have a lot of trust in the FIA,” Brown said. “All we were doing was volunteering our opinion for them to take into consideration. I think it has been a transparent process so far, in that, you know, certificates were going to be issued, then it was delayed, but they communicated it was going to be delayed, they’ve communicated who’s received, who hasn’t, who had procedural.
“It shouldn’t be a public hearing. And I’ve got a lot of confidence that it will be transparent at the end. So I think we need to let the process play out. And only then can you really take a view on what you think of the process. But I think so far it’s gone according to how they laid out what the process would be.”
Mike Pryson Mike Pryson covered auto racing for the Jackson (Mich.) Citizen Patriot and MLive Media Group from 1991 until joining Autoweek in 2011.
Keyword: Angry Red Bull F1 Boss Christian Horner 'Appalled' at Competitors' Accusations