Do budget cap rumours cause distraction? 'At Red Bull it seems so'

Aston Martin F1, like Red Bull Racing, is under fire following claims that the teams have exceeded the budget cap in 2021. According to team boss Mike Krack, these speculations create annoying distractions. Krack thinks Red Bull in particular is suffering.

Red Bull and Aston Martin distracted

The budget cap set at $145 million for one year last year has been rumoured to have been exceeded by Red Bull and Aston Martin. The investigation into all financial reports of all F1 teams by the FIA has now been completed and more clarity on whether these teams exceeded the budget cap will follow on Monday.

The issue has been the talk of the day in Formula 1 since the Singapore GP and it is also being talked about during the Japan GP. After the first free practice session at Suzuka, krack tells Sky: "It's rumours. We were as surprised as everyone else about these rumours. It is of course annoying that these things happen in Singapore on the Friday. Mistakes creep in quickly then and you are quickly distracted."

'Red Bull in particular suffered'

Although Krack finds the situation particularly annoying, he breathes a sigh of relief. Red Bull, according to the team boss, seemed less able to cope with the distractions in Singapore: "[We were] less [distracted] than Red Bull. With Max Verstappen , they had some problem with not enough fuel. Those are problems that affect all the people there." Finally, Krack regrets the situation and cannot understand why this information was made public: "These are highly confidential stories."

Red Bull Racing potentially threw away good points with fiddling during Singapore qualifying. In the race, Verstappen was not flawless with a poor start and an unsuccessful overtaking attempt on Lando Norris. Whether it was indeed a distraction due to the budget cap rumours remains speculation. In any case, it is important for the team to have full concentration in Japan. With a win and fastest lap, Verstappen takes his second F1 title there.