The punishments handed out to Red Bull for breaching F1’s cost cap were “a big joke”, according to Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur.
Red Bull were hit with a £6million fine and restrictions on car development time in October after being found to have broken restrictions in the 2021 season. The manufacturer admitted being $2.2m over the $145m limit and came to an 'accepted breach agreement' with F1's governing body the FIA.
As well as the financial penalty, they were docked 10 per cent of their wind tunnel allocation for the current season. The punishment does not appear to have made any impact on Red Bull, who have won all 12 races this season.
Max Verstappen has won eight races in succession and holds a commanding 125-point lead over team-mate Sergio Perez at the top of the drivers’ standings, while Red Bull have 503 points to second-placed Mercedes’ 247 in the constructors’ table.
Speaking to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Vasseur vented his frustration at the FIA’s decision. "A penalty like last year really isn't severe. If it should be necessary again, such a penalty should be much heavier,” he said.
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"You have to keep in mind that a technical advantage will translate into a sporting advantage. Therefore, the penalty should be sporting and not a fine. In soccer, if you use a hand, it's a penalty... they don't give you a [non-sporting] penalty.
“The deduction of 10 per cent wind tunnel time is a big joke. They have already done most of the work by then."
Max Verstappen has dominated for Red Bull this season (Marco Canoniero/REX/Shutterstock)The FIA described Red Bull’s breach as “minor” and absolved them of acting to seek an advantage over their rivals. The statement read: "There is no accusation or evidence that Red Bull has sought at any time to act in bad faith, dishonestly or in a fraudulent manner, nor has it wilfully concealed any information from the Cost Cap Administration.”
Vasseur is not the first rival to voice the opinion that Red Bull got off lightly for their actions. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who was narrowly pipped to the title by Verstappen in 2021 on the final lap in Abu Dhabi, spoke about the topic last month.
"Yes, it's definitely a concern," said Hamilton. "I mean, it wasn't really a big punishment last time so there's no real [deterrent]. There'll be people that will probably go for it again and know they're just gonna get slapped on the wrist."
Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell added: "If anybody has breached any regulation, you want the punishment to represent the crime. There were breaches last year and, clearly, the punishment didn't fit the crime. We don't want to be seeing that happen again."
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