• Red Bull will be penalised with a 10% cut in permitted aerodynamic research
Red Bull have been fined $7mn for breaking Formula One’s budget rules but will not have points deducted from their 2021 total, the sport’s governing body said on Friday.
Red Bull will also be penalised with a 10% reduction in permitted aerodynamic research.
The FIA confirmed the team, which carried Max Verstappen to a contentious championship victory over Lewis Hamilton last year, overspent by £1.86mn ($2.15mn) in 2021.
The 10% cut is in the time they can spend using their wind tunnel or computational fluid dynamics to design their car.
The punishment comes after Red Bull acknowledged they were at fault and entered into a so-called “accepted breach agreement” with the FIA.
It follows two weeks of speculation that generated criticism of the management of the procedure and calls for harsher sporting penalties instead of a fine.
It was expected to be resolved at the United States Grand Prix last weekend, but it was postponed following the death of Red Bull patriarch Dietrich Mateschitz during final talks on an ‘accepted breach agreement’ (ABA).
Many teams felt that the punishment should have set an example, notably as the breach related to the 2021 season when Verstappen clinched his maiden drivers’ title with Red Bull in contentious circumstances at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, passing seven-time champion Hamilton of Mercedes on the final lap after an irregular Safety Car decision.
Red Bull’s acceptance of an ABA signalled that the team had admitted the offence, a move that brought less severe punishment than might have been if the saga had continued.
In a statement, the FIA said: “There is no accusation of 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.”
The fine has to be paid within 30 days and the restriction on wind tunnel and computational fluid dynamics development applies for 2023. The FIA noted that Red Bull had incorrectly excluded 13 items from the costs submitted for the 2021 season in a detailed statement explaining the review of the financial regulations and Red Bull’s acceptance of the ABA offered.
The team clinched their fifth constructors’ championship and first since 2013 in Texas last weekend where Verstappen record a record-equalling 13th win of the year. The fine will be seen as a light punishment to the team, but the wind tunnel penalty will have some effect.
Teams are granted wind tunnel runs on a sliding scale depending on their result in the championship - and Red Bull are set to be trimmed from 28 runs to 25 while rivals Ferrari will next year have 30 runs, if they finish this season as runners-up. If Mercedes are third, they will have 32.
“We have been provided a significant financial and sporting penalty - $7mn is an enormous amount of money and the more draconian part is the sporting penalty, which is a 10% reduction in our ability to use our wind tunnel and aerodynamic tools,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said. “That is an enormous amount. That represents between 0.25secs and 0.5secs of lap time. It comes in from now and will be in place for a 12-month period and will have an impact on development of our 2023 car.”
Rival team boss Zak Brown of McLaren said Red Bull’s actions had been tantamount to ‘cheating’, an accusation supported by other team bosses, including those of Ferrari and Mercedes, who may be disappointed at the outcome.

Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Team Chief Christian Horner speaks during a press conference at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City ahead of the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix. (AFP)