Red Bull-FIA deal over 2021 F1 cost cap has reached a conclusion: Reports

The FIA's deal with Red Bull regarding the 2021 cost cap breach has reportedly finally reached a conclusion. It is reported that the team has attained an Accepted Breach Agreement, which is practically an acknowledgment of being guilty.

As reported by Autosport, Red Bull boss Christian Horner carried out extensive talks with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem over the US GP weekend (not part of FIA's legal process). The negotiations were initially put on hold post-Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz's death, but a judgment was finally agreed upon.

It is believed that Red Bull will be subjected to a sporting and financial penalty for its procedural breach and 'minor' overspend, which ranges around $1.8 million. Out of the six possible penalties, an aero-testing reduction is expected to be implemented for the Austrian outfit in 2023. As the 2022 constructors' champions, the team will already have less wind tunnel time under the aero testing restriction regulations.

Talking about Red Bull's peculiar misinterpretation of the regulations, Horner told Autosport last week:

“What you have to remember is that the submission can constitute about 75,000 line items. So, there's an enormous amount of data that has to be inputted into these submissions and I think it's only natural that, in a first year we have a set of very complicated regulations, to be able to get its arms around everything, is almost impossible. Almost impossible."

He further added:

"And interpretations have been made, [that] maybe by other teams have been slightly different, and then a change like that has a huge swing in your application of how you've completed your form which, had we been able to resubmit at that point in time, we would have treated very, very differently. So there's probably several teams that have been affected in that manner.”

Several teams and bosses have called for harsh punishments against the Milton-Keynes-based outfit. It will be fascinating to hear everyone's opinion over the team's selected penalty and if the fraternity finds it compelling.

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Haas boss believes Red Bull cheated in the 2021 cost cap saga

Haas boss Guenther Steiner boldly admitted that he believes Red Bull cheated as they breached the 2021 cost cap. The Italian called for appropriate action and a quick penalty against the Austrian outfit.

Speaking to the media during Team Principals' press conference at the 2022 F1 US GP, Steiner cited Haas' example and claimed:

"I always have an opinion, [you are] innocent until proven guilty. Maybe [Zak] knows more than me, but [on] this stuff I live with the authority. It is like going under weight or using too much fuel. We got excluded from a race because of a technical infringement of three millimetres, which didn't make a difference going fast[er] or not. So it is cheating, but as the rules are written, there are penalties and we need to respect them. There is nothing [in the rules to say] if you cheat, you're excluded. So there you need to find the right penalty for that."

Steiner has now become one of the many team principals who have voiced their concerns about the cost cap breach. Toto Wolff has already ridiculed Red Bull's claims of false accusations, and Mattia Binotto even claimed he was pessimistic about the penalty.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown went one step ahead when he wrote a letter to the FIA, suggesting an appropriate penalty for the team. It's safe to say that several entities will be offended if the Milton-Keynes-based outfit gets away with a lenient punishment.