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An incensed Christian Horner has defended Red Bull and claimed the children of employees are being bullied as a result of comments made by rival teams.
Red Bull was the only one of Formula 1’s 10 teams found by the FIA to have overspent the cost cap in 2021 as set out under the sport’s Financial Regulations.
An announcement was made following the Japanese Grand Prix with the team now working through a process with the governing body regarding next steps.
While that has seen Red Bull and the FIA silent on the matter, others have shared their opinion – notably Zak Brown in a letter to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem which Horner believes branded his team as cheats.
It’s an allegation he denies, arguing it is a matter of interpretation and those outside of the ongoing discussions are not in a position to hold an informed opinion.
“Zak’s letter, which wasn’t copied to us, obviously we’ve had sight of that letter, and it’s tremendously disappointing for a fellow competitor to be accusing you of cheating,” Horner said.
“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.
“We’ve been on trial because of public accusations since Singapore,” he added.
“The rhetoric of cheats, the rhetoric of 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, employee’s children – that is not right – through fictitious allegations from other teams.
“You cannot go around just making that kind of allegation without any fact or substance.
“We are absolutely appalled at the behaviour of some of our competitors.”
It’s understood Red Bull’s original submission was $4 million under the $145 million limit, a point reinforced by Horner who stated his team’s “submission was significantly below the cap.”
However, it’s believed the way a number of items have been interpreted has seen a swing of $5.8 million, bringing the squad to a point where it is $1.8 million over the limit.
Horner has also rejected claims that the overspend gave Red Bull a performance benefit.
“What you’ve got to look at is what are the relevant costs? And what are the relevant costs within the cap and what’s outside of the cap? And that’s where the interpretation comes from,” he explained.
“Our view is that all relevant costs are within the cap.
“Now, obviously, we are in discussion with the FIA about what those costs are, and what are mitigating potential circumstances, you know, etc.
“We had zero benefit from a development perspective, or an operational perspective, either for 2021 or for 2022,” he emphasised.
“We expected certain things to be potentially challenged or clarified, as is the process in a brand-new set of regulations, but based on external, professional accounting third parties, the interpretation of those rules, of a 52-page document to police this, were very clear from our side.
“So we absolutely and categorically don’t feel that we’ve had any advantage either in 2021, or 2022, or ’23, or ’24 – or some team’s talk about ’26 – is totally fictitious.”
Brown, who joined Horner in fronting the press in Circuit of The Americas on Saturday morning, defended the language he used in the letter he wrote to the FIA President.
“My letter set out that I think if someone, a team, spends more than the cap, they’re going to get an advantage,” he stated.
“The cap is a rule no different than the technical rules in the sport.
“We’re not taking a view whether they did or didn’t, my letter was, if someone has, then here are the things that we think should be addressed – no different than if ride height is incorrect, or flexi wings, or whatever the case may be.
“I didn’t mention any teams. It was a general response now that we are into the cost cap era; if someone breaches that, here’s what we think some of the ramifications are.
“I have no idea what the number is, I know none of the detail,” he added of the specifics of Red Bull’s breach.
“If we had more money to spend, that would put us in a better light and performance; more people, more upgrades, whatever the case may be.
“So we feel it’s a performance benefit if someone has spent more than the allocated cost cap. That is up to the FIA to determine whether they have or haven’t.”
It’s understood Horner has sought to meet with President Ben Sulayem in Austin in an effort to discuss the matter as frustrations with the current situation begin to boil over.
“We’re working with the FIA, they’re diligently trying to do their job and hopefully in the near future we’ll have a resolution,” Horner explained.
“It’s a new process. I mean, what you have to remember with these regulations is that they were introduced at a level [of] $175 million. It was then reduced by $30 million during the pandemic.
“It’s a complicated set of regulations, it’s 52 pages.
“We’ve been through that process and 2021 was the first ever year of a set of very complicated financial regulations, which of course, have varying interpretations to them from different accounting specialists.
“So obviously the findings of the FIA have been made public recently and we’re now in a voluntary process with the FIA going through that.
“I hope we’ll be able to conclude it in the near future.”
An Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) has been offered to Red Bull and is believed to include both a financial and sporting penalty applied.
While the former would have some impact, the latter is understood to be the real sticking point, with a potential 25 percent reduction in wind tunnel hours on the table.
Too late to have any impact this season, it would affect the team next year and also into 2024 as it looks to develop that car over the next 12 months.
“We’ve been invited to enter into an ABA which is, for a minor breach and a procedural breach, that you have the opportunity to discuss with the FIA and present your case, your position.
“We’re in that process and have been for the last pretty much, what, 10 days or so going backwards and forwards with the FIA.
“I hoped for it to be resolved before this weekend. I’m hopeful that it can be resolved during this weekend.
“But should that not happen, the next process is it goes to the Cost Cap Administration Panel and then, beyond that, there’s the International Court of Appeal.
“So it could draw it out for another six, nine months, which is not our intention. We want closure on 2021.
“I think that we’ve had some healthy and productive discussions with the FIA, and I’m hopeful of being able to reach a conclusion in the near future.”
