On 7th January, Red Bull racing shared a tweet on their official Twitter handle. The post contained a cake made in the shape of Sergio Perez’s Helmut, and it was just the perfect birthday cake. Now the irony or, let’s say, coincidence thing behind the post is Lewis Hamilton’s birthday is on the same day. The rival racing team tweeted a birthday cake video on Hamilton’s birthday! Even if you don’t want to, your mind will definitely find some relativity despite having no mention of Hamilton in the tweet.
However, as soon as Red Bull posted the video with the caption, “The Perfect birthday cake does not exi….” [Or it does?] fans started reminding the team not to breach the budget again. Well, some of the fans praised the cake’s perfect design too. But others considered the comment box as the perfect place to bring out the cost cap breach controversy. Anieren said, “Red Bull Racing, Don’t blow the budget.” Other, named Adi, commented, “You better keep an eye on teh cost cap. The cake could put you 6 million beyond the cost cap.”
This season during the Singapore Grand Prix, the Milton Keynes-based team got alleged for breaching the 2021 budget. The year which presented Max Verstappen with his maiden win made Red Bull the most controversial team of Formula One this season. As soon as the reports were released, rival teams like Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren came out to criticize Christain Horner.
Red Bull Fans Afraid, The Team May Have Breached The Budget This Year Too.
Mercedes principal Toto Wolff claimed that Red Bull won the championship with the help of the breached amount. Ferrari’s chief Mattia Binotto stated that one team could hire good engineers by exceeding the budget amount. And so apparently, Red Bull paid the exceeded amount to the staff. And MacLaren’s boss Zak Brown sent a letter to FIA suggesting that Red Bull has constituted cheating, and for this act, they deserve strict sanctions. After the Singapore Grand Prix, the controversy went too far that it dulled the shine of Max Verstappen’s second world champion trophy.
Don’t blow the budget
— Anieren (@ItsAnieren) January 7, 2023
Clearly not bothered about this years cost cap either…
— Joe 🦉 (@Joe_1867) January 7, 2023
So that’s where the 2021 cost cap was breached
— HW_driver (@HWdriver5988) January 9, 2023
Meanwhile, when FIA actually investigated, they found that Red Bull actually did not breach the budget intentionally, but they forgot to submit the tax. However, they exceeded budget was found to be $0.5, which must have been used for the team’s benefit. This ultimately helped Max Verstappen win the title. FIA punished the team with a $7 million and a 10% deduction in the Wind Tunnel testing for 12 months. This punishment was too little, according to the rivals, but Christian Horner found it draconian. The Red Bull boss believes that this punishment would become a challenge for the team in securing the 2023 championship trophy.
Red Bull fans want to warn the team not to breach the budget again. The team is already facing serious consequences, and repeating teh same mistake again is not expected. The reigning champion team has confirmed that this year, the team is not at teh risk of breaching the budget. Yet, nothing can be said till FIA’s final annual report arrives.