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Former Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean recently described the budget cap as the best idea in the history of F1, second only to the Halo.
The Halo safety device was introduced to the design and structure of the cars back in 2018 and has since saved multiple drivers from getting seriously injured, including the 36-year-old, who suffered a terrifying fiery crash at the 2020 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix. The budget cap was introduced into the sport at the beginning of the 2021 season with the intention to make a more fair playing field for all the teams on the grid and has since been quite a topic of discussion.
Recently, Red Bull was found to be in breach of last year's budget cap regulations, for which the team was handed a hefty $7 million fine and a 10% reduction of their 2023 wind tunnel time.
Referring to Red Bull's breach of the 2021 financial regulations while speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Grosjean said:
“The budget cap is the best idea in the history of F1 after the Halo. Having said that, tougher measures would be needed if it is violated. Even if the final figure attributed to Red Bull is lower than that assumed at the beginning, a few million can make the difference. If the penalty is light for a few million, tomorrow another team could think of going over by six or 10 million.”
Red Bull advisor jokes about team Christmas party; says it does not count towards F1 budget cap
After all the drama and controversy surrounding Red Bull's breach of the 2021 financial regulations, team advisor Helmut Marko spoke about the two big end-of-year celebrations that the team held at their main factory in Milton Keynes as well as in London. He joked that the Christmas party does not get included within the 2022 budget cap and confirmed that the team believes they have remained within the budget set for the season.
Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Marko said:
“I wasn’t there at the celebration in Milton Keynes. There was a big show run with everything we have in motorsport. From rally cars to Formula 1. For Milton Keynes, Red Bull is the sporting figurehead.”
He added:
“Then we had our Christmas party in London. It doesn’t count in the budget cap. According to our calculations, we’re well below that this year, but we want to confirm that early enough so that we don’t experience the same kind of surprises as last year.”
Red Bull had plenty to celebrate this year with the team securing its fifth constructors' championship title and Max Verstappen securing his second consecutive title. With the 2023 season looming, it will be interesting to see whether the reduced wind tunnel time will affect Red Bull's performance in any way and if they will be able to successfully defend their title again.
