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Lewis Hamilton fans declared him the 2021 world champion on social media after Red Bull were found guilty of breaching the cost cap last season.
The season, which ended in controversial fashion, was ultimately won by Max Verstappen. But with the recent cost cap breaching allegations, it was speculated that the team might be stripped of it.
Red Bull were found guilty of breaching the cost cap of 2021 after the FIA reviewed the budget and released their report earlier this week. Aston Martin were involved in it too, but they only had a procedural breach. The Bulls, though, had a "minor overspend."
Much before the reports were released, Red Bull and Aston Martin were expected to have breached the cap. The FIA had not mentioned anything about a potential punishment for the teams that had breached the cost cap. However, fans are expecting a strong penalty for it.
They believe that Max Verstappen will either face a loss of points or the team would be disqualified from the entire 2021 season. In either of those cases, Lewis Hamilton would be crowned the champion, making him the first ever 8-time World Champion in the sport.
After FIA confirmed that Red Bull had indeed breached the cap, many started to believe that Lewis Hamilton would now be crowned as the champion. While there has been no official statement from them, many Hamilton fans have already "declared" him as the 8-time world champion:
Red Bull to do a detailed analysis of the cost cap report by FIA
After the report was released, Red Bull put out a statement saying that they would have a detailed analysis of the same. The team believes that they did not breach the cost cap, but believe it could be due to "catering" and related expenses.
Analysts believe that if they somehow prove that the overspend was not on the car, they wouldn't get a point penalty or disqualification from the season, but rather a monetary fine. This would mean that Max Verstappen would still be the winner of the season.
