Red Bull think FIA penalty is ‘tough’ as Max Verstappen hit with issue

Red Bull think their budget cap penalty from the FIA was ‘tough’ despite breaching F1 rules, according to Sky Sports host Craig Slater. He adds Red Bull were aggrieved by the FIA’s decision to award sporting and financial penalties as they were ‘only slightly over the cap’. The FIA confirmed on Friday night that the team would lose 10 per cent of their car development allowance and had been hit with a £6.4million ($7m) fine. The loss of development time could be a blow to Max Verstappen’s chances next season as the team will have less of an opportunity to update their 2023 design.The penalty could also impact on the team’s development of the 2024 car. However, Max Verstappen will retain his 2021 title as no other penalties were awarded.Speaking to Sky Sports News, Slater said: ‘That’s rather less than a lot of people were speculating. I think Martin Brundle a couple of days ago was talking about a 25 per cent wind tunnel reduction. READ MORE: Max Verstappen keeps F1 title as Red Bull slapped with £6m fine Red Bull apparently feel their budget cap penalty was ‘tough’ (Image: Getty / Sky Sports F1)”Now my understanding from some soundings within the team is that Red Bull still think that’s quite a tough sanction, given they were only slightly over the cap. This was only a minor breach.’Rival teams have piled the pressure on the FIA to impose severe sanctions on the team to set an example and maintain the integrity of the cap. McLaren boss Zak Brown had called for offenders to be slapped with a 20 per cent reduction in wind tunnel and CFD testing, higher than the eventual 10 per cent penalty. The FIA confirmed Red Bull had breached the cap by £1.8m ($2.2m), just 1.6 per cent over the allowance. But, the governing body also confirmed the team’s overspend would have been just over £432,000 ($0.5m) if there had not been a tax error. DON’T MISSFIA handing Max Verstappen title to Hamilton ‘never in consideration’ [COMMENT]Lewis Hamilton admits he’s haunted after ‘fresh kick’ from Red Bull [INSIGHT]FIA pressure mounts as F1 boss makes demand over Red Bull rule breach [ANALYSIS] Max Verstappen will keep his 2021 title but development penalties could affect him next season (Image: Getty)This would have put the team just 0.37 per cent over last season’s cap. Slater confirmed this could have played a factor in the team’s lighter penalty than many of their paddock rivals had called for. He added: ‘So if you were actually looking at it dispassionately and say well if they could have done this again how much have they overspent by? A 0.37 per cent overspend which is not a significant amount. ‘And I think that’s the reason why this sporting sanction is not as severe as people were speculating.’