Villeneuve convinced: 'Red Bull is so strong it would have won anyway'

Jacques Villeneuve does not think Red Bull Racing's exceeding of the budget cap will have any impact on Formula 1 as a sport. He insists there is no foul play and is convinced the breach has played no role in the team's current dominance.

In recent weeks, the budget cap issue surrounding Red Bull Racing degenerated into a real riot. Wild suggestions circulated in the F1 paddock with amounts of up to seven million being mentioned. In the end, it turned out to be a much smaller amount, which would have been even smaller if the team had not made a mistake in filling in a tax deduction item.

Villeneuve thinks breach will not damage F1

Villeneuve is confident that the issue will not have a detrimental effect on the sport. "When McLaren got that mega fine of 100 million, it didn't happen either," writes the Canadian in his column for Formule.nl. At the same time, it is still not clear to him exactly what is and is not allowed and what punishment the FIA can issue for which offence.

One thing is clear to the 1997 world champion: there is no question of cheating. Moreover, he highly doubts it would have made any difference in the outcome of this year's championship. "Red Bull is so strong that they would have won anyway," Villeneuve concludes.

The former Formula One driver is more troubled by the FIA collecting seven million dollars. He stresses that the fine will have little effect on Red Bull and that other teams will not benefit either. He does think the restriction in wind tunnel time will hurt and slow the team down, but Villeneuve says it would be better to divide the fine amount among the competing teams.