AUSTIN, Texas — Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says he was “appalled” by a rival’s accusations during Formula One’s cost cap controversy after McLaren CEO Zak Brown said a breach of the cap would constitute cheating.
After analysing the accounts of all 10 teams, the FIA found Red Bull was the only one that had exceeded last year’s budget cap.
Although figures have not been made public, the overspend is believed to be $1.8 million, while Red Bull states that the accounts it submitted in March were under the $145 million cap.
Red Bull claims the difference is partly due to clarifications that were made in June over what fell under the cap last year, while sources have indicated Red Bull also failed to claim a $1.4 million tax rebate, adding to its overspend.
The FIA is currently discussing the details of breach with Red Bull ahead of the next stage of the process, which will see the governing body present the team with an accepted breach agreement (ABA) whereby Red Bull will have the opportunity to accept a penalty dictated by the FIA.
If it rejects the penalty, the case will be submitted to the FIA’s cost cap adjudication panel made up of independent legal and accounting experts for a ruling.
In the buildup to this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, Brown wrote a letter to the FIA laying out his views on how a breach should be dealt with.
The letter did not mention Red Bull directly but said an overspend would “constitute cheating by offering a significant advantage across technical, sporting and financial regulations” before laying out a suggested penalty.
The letter enraged Horner, who made his feelings known in a news conference at the U.S. Grand Prix while sat directly next to Brown.
“Obviously Zak’s letter, which wasn’t copied to us but we’ve had sight of that letter, was tremendously disappointing,” Horner said. “For a fellow competitor to be accused of cheating, to accuse you of fraudulent activity is shocking. It’s absolutely shocking.
“Without the facts, without any knowledge of the details, to be making that kind of accusation. We’ve been on trial because of public accusations since [the race in] Singapore. The rhetoric of cheats, the rhetoric that we have had this enormous benefit, the numbers that have been put out in the media are miles off reality.
“The damage that that does the brand, to our partners, to the drivers, to our…
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