“It’s really a lose-lose situation”- Nico Rosberg comments on Red Bull F1 cost cap breach and FIA penalty

Nico Rosberg, a former F1 driver and World Champion, believes that the FIA is in a challenging situation with Red Bull around the budget cap breaching controversy. He believes so because no matter their decision against Red Bull, it can backfire quickly. He told Sky Sports:

"For the FIA, the problem is, it's really a lose-lose situation because if they would really take points away for last year's championship, worst case even points from Max, that would be really bad for everybody."

He believes that a harsh penalty on the team or Max Verstappen will have the same effect as letting them go with a simple one. Just like a deduction from the 2021 points will be 'bad for everybody,' simply letting the team go with a minimal punishment won't be right either because it will not be fair for the other teams who worked under the budget for the development of the car.

"But if they did a serious cost cap breach of a couple of million or whatever, and it really gave them a performance advantage, if they don't go in very hard and aggressive then that's also a lose-lose."

The FIA revealed that the teams that breached the cost cap in 2021 are Red Bull and Aston Martin. However, it remains unknown where the money was overspent. Rosberg believes it is relevant because it will clear up a lot of facts, and subsequently, deciding the penalty for the team will be easier. Sebastian Vettel had earlier stated the same, speaking about the FIA's transparency.

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Nico Rosberg contrasts Mercedes domination with Red Bull's future

Rosberg believes that even though Red Bull is struck in a gamble with the budget cap issue, their dominant period is hard to avoid. He said the team has been performing amazingly well, as Mercedes did when they dominated the sport for years with seven driver's and eight constructor's titles.

"Red Bull are the dominant force at the moment in the way that Mercedes were in all these past years."

Rosberg, too, in 2016, won his only World Championship with Mercedes before retiring from the sport.

While the celebrations for Max Verstappen's consecutive 2nd title had not stopped, the Bulls clinched the constructor's championship after the United States Grand Prix. This happened for the first time for them since 2013. Nico Rosberg believes that winning the title early in the season is proof of their dominance, like Mercedes, and it will be hard for other teams to compete with them.