Christian Horner is requesting a probe into how information about Red Bull’s budget cap violation was revealed to the public before it was formally confirmed. Red Bull has made it obvious that they will not take their penalties for exceeding the budget cap without a fight.
The current reigning champion in F1 was discovered to have exceeded the cap by £1.8 million in 2021, the year that Max Verstappen contentiously edged out Lewis Hamilton to win the championship.
Before the most recent Mexican Grand Prix, it was reported that Red Bull had reached an Accepted Breach Agreement following discussions with the FIA. This ended in a £6 million fine and a 10% decrease in the wind tunnel time for the Austrian-based team.
- Fernando Alonso Lashes Out At The Media After Hamilton Posted A Cheeky Tweet Aimed At Him.
- Team Principal Requests The FIA Increase The Magnitude Of The Punishment Imposed On Red Bull.
However, information regarding Red Bull’s breach first surfaced at the beginning of October, when rival teams—including Toto Wolff, the team principal of Mercedes—spoke candidly to the media about the matter.
Christian Horner reacted furiously and threatened legal action when it first came to light. Since then, he has demanded an apology from individuals like Wolff and Zak Brown, the CEO of McLaren, who in a sensational letter to the FIA accused Red Bull of cheating.
Horner has demanded an investigation because he remains dissatisfied with how information about the breach was disclosed to the public. In a conversation with motorsport.com, he said: “The accusations made in Singapore were extremely upsetting for every single member of staff, all our partners, everyone involved within Red Bull,”
“Obviously, any form of leakage is hugely worrying. It’s something that we expect to be followed up.”
- Mexico GP: Lewis Hamilton Admits The Jeering Crowd Had An Effect On Him.
- Red Bull Cost Cap Punishment Is ‘Not Harsh Enough’ According To Andreas Seidl.
However, Tiff Needell, a former host of Top Gear, has asked Horner to put the incident behind him, tweeting: “Horner now demanding an investigation into how their breaking of the cost cap was leaked! Just let it go, Christian, you’ve won both titles, just let it go…”
Before joining Channel 5’s Fifth Gear programme, Needell co-hosted Top Gear for 15 years and competed in one F1 race for the Ensign team in 1980.
