What punishment should Red Bull face if the budget cap has been exceeded?

The FIA has announced that Red Bull Racing have exceeded the budget cap, but what the punishment will be is not yet clear. We asked editors of all editions of GPblog the following: What penalty does Red Bull Racing deserve if it has exceeded the budget cap?

Rishi Wig - English edition of GPblog

Red Bull have made emphatic assertions that their accounts are in order. If there is some leeway in the perception, then a less harsh penalty may be adjudged. However, with this being the first ruling in relation to the cost cap, this will set a precedent for any future infringement. One thing is for certain, an exclusion from the driver’s or constructor’s championship for the previous season is a massive repercussion which will damage the integrity of the sport itself. These accolades are designed to be lasting monuments of achievement. If anything, Red Bull may experience a sporting penalty and/or a fine for the current season, seeing as it is currently in motion and may bring a sense of jeopardy in the final races of this season.

Daniel de Ruiter - GPblog Netherlands

Red Bull should just be punished heavily for this. Every team has stuck to the maximum budget in 2021. Aston Martin probably did make a procedural error and will be reprimanded for it, but Red Bull - which was fighting for the constructors' title and won the drivers' title with Verstappen - made a grave mistake.

Comparing this situation with the illegality of the Ferrari engines in 2019, I think with the Red Bull situation we can say with even more certainty that the team crossed the line and that, above all, the stakes were higher for Red Bull in 2021 than for Ferrari in 2019. A heavy penalty is appropriate, except that the model the FIA uses for penalties is somewhat problematic. Up to an excess of five per cent, a light penalty applies. 'A light penalty' could therefore still apply to an excess of around seven million. Giving the driver a penalty for this is tricky, but perhaps necessary. The 2021 championship was so exciting that it is quite conceivable that a hefty budget overrun just ensured those eight points in the championship over Hamilton. The vehement condemnations of Ferrari and Mercedes over this situation are therefore quite understandable; I would also urge the FIA to act harshly.

Johannes Kyprianou - GPblog Sweden

The breach in the cost cap by Red Bull, although classified as minor by the FIA, should be punished fairly. To start with a reduction in cost cap for next season is the minimal punishment I believe that they should face. I do not believe that any consequences should follow on the drivers and their championship since I do not think they have played any part in this, like it was with Crashgate. The constructors championship on the other hand, is somewhere I could see Red Bull being disqualified from.

Rafael Diaz Lehmann - English edition of GPblog

Breaching the cost-cap must be punished with extremity as not only is it in direct violation of the regulations, but it is damaging for the morality of the sport as well as its reputation. Titles being stripped away is not a new concept in F1, with McLaren being disqualified and being fined from the Constructor’s Championship in 2007 after the Spygate scandal, and I believe the same must happen to Red Bull Racing. After all, if the teams that breached the cost-cap are not appropriately punished, then nobody will adhere to it.

Bonne Veenstra - GPblog Netherlands

Since Red Bull Racing went over the budget cap and not Max Verstappen, I think it is at least important that the driver is not punished. Red Bull themselves, on the other hand, is. A fine is not going to make much of a difference, because then bigger teams like Ferrari and Mercedes would probably also go over the limit the next time around to gain an advantage. The most logical step would be points reduction. In the constructors' championship only. A logical step would be one point reduction for every 100,000 euros/dollars overspent. The problem? Red Bull loses nothing by it, this would probably work with smaller teams, who score fewer points in total and are thus closer to their competitors. For Red Bull to really feel pain from the overshoot, a reduction in wind tunnel time should also be added.

Marco Gil - GPblog Brazil

It's hard to imagine any sporting penalty being applied since the FIA are always looking into past spendings. In this Red Bull case, I believe the team should receive a fine and a deduction on their 2023 budget cap. Realistically, I don't see anything beyond a fine being given.

Rasmus Tønder Christiansen - GPblog Denmark

Red Bull have been found guilty in breaching the budget cap, for a minor offence. I think it is silly to start talking about penalising Red Bull for last season’s results but instead, I believe the penalty should be focused on the development of the 2023 car. This could be in the form of less time in the wind tunnel or a reduced budget, combined with a fine. It is going to be very exciting to see how hard the punishment is going to be from FIA.

Raphaël Fernandez-Lopez - GPblog France

It would be counterproductive for the FIA to take points away from the team or from Verstappen himself. That would be a reversal of a decision already taken in Saudi Arabia. The case has been ridiculed enough lately and its popularity rating is very low. The best solution in my opinion would be to reduce their wind tunnel time for the next season. A fair proposal that would balance past injuries for the coming season.

Rubén Gómez - GPblog Spain

In my opinion, bygones are bygones. Neither Max's championship last year, nor this year's championship, counting also that they are almost going to take the constructors' championship, should be touched. The best way is to reduce in the next year, what they have spent last year. Red Bull have gone 1 or 2 million dollars over the budget cap, so the following year those 1 or 2 million dollars will be cut. I think this is the fairest way, without incurring penalties or changes of championships, what they exceeded one year is taken away in the following year.

Matt Gretton - English edition of GPblog

Let's be clear. This has nothing to do with the outcome between Hamilton and Verstappen, Mercedes and Red Bull in 2021. This is all about providing a precedent that ensures no teams in the future are willing to overspend and therefore bring more controversy to F1. So the FIA should come down hard on Red Bull. A fine won't cut it because it's just a drop in the ocean for the big teams. They must apply something that will hit Red Bull's future performance or previous results.