Red Bull is enjoying the hegemony in F1 in the cost cap era. They have won back-to-back driver’s world championships. They even won the constructor’s title last year. In the current season, Red Bull has won all the races of both championships so far. They are far ahead of the rest of the teams at present.
It looks like they will enjoy another thumping victory like last year. Albeit, other teams have suffered a lot due to the budget restrictions, especially Mercedes. However, Red Bull is not deprived of any problems either in the cost cap era. It is true that they have got the fastest car and are cruising to the titles quite comfortably. Is this because they have once again gone ahead of the 2022 budget cap, just like last year?
Red Bull Is Uncertain If They Had Breached Cost Cap In 2022 Too
Red Bull has faced obstacles, too, especially in the form of penalties for breaching the cost cap last year. The Austrian team had to pay a fine of $7 million and a 10% reduction of wind tunnel time in 2022. They breached the cost cap in 2021, which is why they had to pay that fine as a penalty. However, the question is, did they do it again? Did Red Bull breach the cost cap in 2022 as well? Then they will get a penalty again this year.
The Milton Keynes team boss Christian Horner recently mentioned that nobody could be 100% sure until they have the certificates to prove they did not breach the cost cap. It is up to FIA when they will release the certificates after they are done with checking the numbers. The Red Bull boss is certain they stayed as much as possible within the budget limit. But the certainty depends on the governing body, FIA. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali expressed his feelings about waiting for the results from the governing body.
Powerhouses Find It Hard To Deal With The Cost Cap Law
Stefano Domenicali mentioned that he is very nervous about what new controversy it will create like last year. As soon as the FIA provides the certificates, the concerned authorities can start working on the next step to act if any team has violated the rules. The budget limit for every team is $145 million dollars for every season in the cost cap era. Last year Red Bull and, to a certain extent, Aston Martin faced embarrassment after FIA found out these two teams breached that limit in 2021.
If some mistake like that happened again last year, it would create more embarrassment for the sport and its governing bodies. Due to this cost cap rule, every team on the grid has got a fair chance to compete. Unlike in the past, the three powerhouses – Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull would only compete for the titles due to their enormous budgets. Other than the positives of the new rule, the F1 teams must go through obstacles as well. These are there because of the new law. It has definitely not been easy for the powerhouses to cope up with the new rule.