Zak Brown says Red Bull ‘insulted’ F1 rivals with what they said about cost cap breach

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Red Bull exceeded the F1 cost cap during the 2021 season. The FIA found them guilty of a ‘minor’ breach, which means they overspent by less than 5%.

At the end of October 2022, they were hit with a £6m fine and a 10% reduction in their allotted wind tunnel and CFD time. Outwardly, this appeared to have little impact as Red Bull went on to produce the most dominant season in F1 history.

Max Verstappen had won his first drivers’ championship in 2021, beating Lewis Hamilton to glory at the final race in Abu Dhabi after an epic season-long tussle. But the cost cap scandal only added to the controversy around his eventual triumph.

Verstappen had also profited from an error from FIA race director Michael Masi, who mistakenly restarted the race before all lapped cars had had a chance to overtake. Mercedes, along with six other teams, were in compliance with budgetary restrictions.

F1 introduced the rules for the 2021 season in the hope of levelling the playing field. Aston Martin and Williams were also found guilty of procedural breaches in the first year, both of which resulted in fines.

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said at the time that Red Bull’s overspend constituted ‘cheating’ (BBC Sport). He made the claim in a letter sent to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and his F1 counterpart Stefano Domenicali.

Zak Brown says Red Bull needed to ‘own’ cost cap breach

Speaking to The Independent, Brown renewed his criticism of Red Bull. He accused the Milton Keynes outfit of ‘insulting’ their rivals’ intelligence with their explanation for exceeding the cap.

Team principal Christian Horner said at the time (F1) that they thought they could exclude catering costs and sick pay from their figures. Brown feels they should have taken ownership of their conduct instead.

He says their attempts to spin the narrative ‘needed to be called out’. The American was perhaps the most vocal critic of Horner’s squad when the news emerged.

“When they blew through the cost cap, we’d have just owned it,” he said. “Instead, it was a bunch of excuses, trying to downplay, almost insulting the rest of us because while you can say it was for sandwiches, I have to feed my team like everyone else.

“It was trying to pull the wool over the eyes. That needed to be called out.”

Zak Brown asked if he would drop Sergio Perez

Brown’s latest remarks come in the midst of a renewed rivalry between McLaren and Red Bull. The two teams are regularly competing for race wins for the first time since 2012.

Lando Norris beat Verstappen in Miami to secure his first F1 victory and also finished as the Dutchman’s runner-up in Canada and Spain. The two drivers collided late on in the Austrian GP, which has led to tension between their respective tensions.

Speaking at Silverstone last time out, Brown accused Horner of ‘a lack of respect’, citing the cost cap breach and his recent spat with Jos Verstappen. Sky Sports F1 presenter Ted Kravitz called his remarks ‘explosive’.

Norris has little chance of catching Verstappen in the drivers’ championship, even though there are still 12 races remaining. The gap stands at 84 points after multiple near-misses for the 24-year-old.

However, McLaren could yet overhaul Red Bull in the constructors’ after closing the gap to 78 points in recent rounds. Brown feels the underperforming Sergio Perez could cost them the title, but stopped short of saying he should be dropped.