Will Verstappen lose his world title? 'That's complete nonsense'

Helmut Marko is not at all worried about the FIA 's possible punishment for exceeding the budget cap. Moreover, the Austrian believes that Red Bull Racing has simply complied with the limit and does not even need to be punished.

Red Bull not worried

On Monday, it was announced by the FIA that Red Bull Racing has exceeded the 2021 budget cap. It is said to be a minor infraction, but if this is really the case, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez 's team will also receive a penalty for it. At Red Bull, however, there is a lack of understanding about the alleged overshoot.

''We still believe that we didn't break the cost cap rule at all. Discussions with the FIA ​​are ongoing. Let's see what finally comes out of it. ”The FIA ​​​​interprets some items differently than Red Bull. For example, it is about salaries in case of illness, which is being discussed,'' Marko said to F1-insider.com.

Is Verstappen's title at risk?

The rules surrounding the budget cap state that the FIA could also deduct points from the constructors' and drivers' championships as punishment, theoretically threatening Verstappen's world title as well. However, Verstappen's fans need not worry about that, according to Marko.

''Rumors that Max could lose his world title in 2021, for example, are complete nonsense. The past has shown that even extreme violations of the regulations were punished very mildly by the FIA.''

Marko is referring to two recent examples. In 2013, for instance, Mercedes conducted a secret test with Pirelli and was only banned for one Young Driver Test for it. However, the German team appeared to fully understand the tyres after that test and benefited considerably later on. In 2019, there was the scandal surrounding Ferrari, with the team making a secret deal with the FIA after its engine was likely not according to the rules.