F1 CEO on cost cap controversy: The FIA's decision to penalise Red Bull was the right one

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali believes the FIA's decision to penalize Red Bull for breaking the 2021 cost cap was right. The Austrian team was found to be in breach of the cost cap introduced last year and has now incurred a hefty reprimand for the 2023 season.

The 2022 title winners were slapped on the wrist with a hefty $7 million fine for their shenanigans in 2021. They will also receive a 10% reduction in wind tunnel testing time for the 2023 season, drastically reducing their chances of defending their title.

While rival teams like Mercedes and Ferrari believe that Red Bull deserves a lot worse for their 'minor breach' of the 2021 cost cap, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali trusts that the FIA knows what is an appropriate punishment for Red Bull under President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

The F1 CEO told Gazzetta dello Sport:

"The introduction of the budget cap is a positive step. We needed more financial stability in the sport. We are talking about a reality where before only sporting and technical regulations existed. The introduction of the financial variable is not without fits and starts. That is why it is important for the FIA to organise a structure that was not there before. The teams were used to spending everything they could. I trust and hope that the FIA's decision to penalise Red Bull was the right one."

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F1 rivals wanted harsher penalties for Red Bull over cost cap breach

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem claimed some teams wanted Red Bull to be given a much harsher penalty for breaching the 2021 F1 cost cap. The Milton Keynes-based squad was found to be in breach of last year's budget, leading to widespread criticism of both its members and drivers.

Despite a hefty fine and a reduction in wind tunnel time being handed out to Max Verstappen and the squad, Ben Sulayem claims some teams wanted much harsher penalties for Red Bull. He told the media:

"I believe that there was a balance between [the financials] and the sporting penalties [handed to the team]. But we learned a lot [from the process] and a big review is going into it, because who knows in the first year [of the cost cap] what is going to be the outcome? If you look at the other big teams, they will say we have been light on them. [In terms of] the penalty, some of them want [Red Bull] to be hanged, they wanted to see blood, and the teams themselves see this as [a] huge [thing] themselves."

It seems the 2022 constructors' champions will be disadvantaged in their title defense next year. We will, however, only get a realistic idea in pre-season testing of how the financial penalty and reduced wind tunnel testing time will affect Red Bull.