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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has demanded a clear and fair penalty for Red Bull's 2021 cost cap breach. The Austrian believes that though taking back Max Verstappen's title is not realistic, the FIA must penalize them appropriately.
Speaking to La Gazzetta Dello Sport, the Mercedes boss appealed for logical and balanced punishment:
"I don't know the size of the violation, but one or two million can already decide a championship. The FIA must make the right choice and the penalty must reflect the violation."
Wolff further compared the new financial regulations to F1's sporting and technical rules:
"The financial regulations are just as important as the technical and sporting rules. If you are disqualified for a technical violation, you should be able to get that for a violation of the financial regulations even though these rules are new. There must be an adequate penalty. There are enough rumours, but the FIA has to decide in the end."
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying due to a technical infringement. It will be interesting to see how the financial regulations are taken into account in Red Bull's case.
Ex-Mercedes driver demands strict punishment for Red Bull F1
Former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas believes that a team should follow the rules and if not, they should be ready for a penalty. The Finn sided with the majority of the paddock's opinion and wants a harsh result for Red Bull's breach.
Speaking at the drivers' press conference ahead of the US GP, the Alfa Romeo driver said:
"I feel like rules are the rules and if you don't follow them, there should be a penalty that really hurts because like Carlos said, you don't want anyone to have the appetite to maximise something for one year and risking with a budget cap. I personally hope that it's going to be a strict and harsh penalty because that shouldn't happen: rules are the rules. There's many rules in F1 and there should be no difference in terms of the penalty."
The 2021 cost cap breach has still not reached a solution as many await the FIA's decision. Red Bull, however, maintain that they are not guilty and wish to resolve the issue soon.
