Poll | What do you think of punishment for Red Bull for budget cap violation

The soap opera surrounding the budget cap has dragged on for several weeks, but clarity has finally been provided. Red Bull Racing will be fined seven million dollars to pay to the FIA and there will be a big cut in wind tunnel time in 2023 for the Austrian racing stable? We are curious: is this one too light, good or too heavy?

In fact, Max Verstappen's team exceeded the budget ceiling by 0.37 per cent, but errors with tax deductions brought the total to 1.6 per cent. That 1.6 per cent is equivalent to just under £1.9 million. The FIA saw no malicious intent and took that into account in determining the penalty.

So the actual amount Red Bull did really overspend is less, at just over £400,000. The FIA considers Red Bull guilty of this, and so it ended up not only as a procedural error but also as a financial offence. Red Bull ended up being able to spend almost half a million more than its competitors and for that, it is now being punished.

Less wind tunnel time Red Bull

Red Bull is going to 63 per cent wind tunnel time. This compares with 75 per cent for Ferrari and 80 per cent for Mercedes. 100 per cent equals 320 runs, so the Milton Keynes-based team will be allowed 201 runs. Still, this is 39 fewer than Ferrari and 55 fewer than Mercedes. Especially this penalty hits Red Bull, the seven million dollars to be paid to the FIA is not deducted from the budget cap and thus automatically does not hurt Red Bull as much.

What do you think of the penalty for Red Bull? Let us know in the comments and join the discussion in the comments!