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Red Bull boss Christian Horner says team 'not aware' of any F1 budget cap breach during 2021 season

Reports claim Red Bull are one of two teams who the FIA have found to have breached F1's 2021 budget cap; Red Bull boss Christian Horner insists the team are unaware of any breaches; watch the Singapore GP live all weekend on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday's race at 1pm

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Red Bull boss Christian Horner says team 'not aware' of any F1 budget cap breach during 2021 season. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says that this is a 'heavyweight' issue

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says he is "not aware" of the team having breached Formula 1's budget cap, amid reports they could be penalised for over-spending during the 2021 campaign.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff later described Horner's comments as "funny", and said the alleged breaches are a "heavyweight issue" that will have implications on results from the three world championships from 2021-2023.

The sport introduced a budget cap last season, and reports claim Red Bull are one of two teams who the FIA will announce went over the $145m (£114m) spending limit, with an official announcement expected on October 5.

Potential punishment for the teams found to have breached the regulations could range from financial penalties to points deduction, with the categorisation of the infringement as 'minor' or 'material' the crucial factor.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after opening practice at the Singapore GP on Friday, Horner responded to a topic that is threatening to overshadow the sport's first visit to the Marina Bay Street Circuit since 2019.

"We are certainly not aware of any (breaches)," Horner said. "The accounts were all submitted way back in March, so it's been a long process with the FIA going through, and we are in that process as we speak.

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Red Bull team principal Horner says that their submission of the budget cap for last season was the below the FIA's cap

"They are rightly following that process and I think mid-next week is when they declare their certificates.

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"Certainly our submission was below the cap and it's down to the FIA to follow their process, which they are currently doing."

Horner also described the regulations as "immature", and said that the interpretation and application of them would be "subjective".

The rules provide a range of sanctions that can be applied based on the amount by which teams have exceeded the cap.

2021 Budget Cap F1

These include fines for minor offences, while material offences could result in a deduction of points from the drivers' and teams' standings, suspension and exclusion from the championship.

The FIA released a statement before Horner spoke to Sky Sports F1 on Friday, insisting any breaches would be "dealt with" according to the regulations.

The statement said: "The FIA is currently finalising the assessment of the 2021 financial data submitted by all Formula 1 teams. Alleged breaches of the Financial Regulations, if any, will be dealt with according to the formal process set out in the regulations."

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Despite being on the brink of winning the championship in Singapore, Red Bull's Max Verstappen is refusing to get ahead of himself in his quest for a second world title

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen pipped Lewis Hamilton to the 2021 drivers' championship, while Mercedes narrowly won the constructors' title.

Verstappen is all but certain to add his second title this season, while Red Bull are in a similarly dominant position and look set to end Mercedes' eight-year run of constructors' titles.

Wolff: 'Heavyweight issue' must be policed

Reacting to Horner's comments, Wolff told Sky Sports F1 that the breaches were a "heavyweight issue", and also urged FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to take a "robust stance" on the matter.

"It's funny that Christian (Horner) has said that because it has been weeks and months that they've been being investigated," said Wolff. "So maybe he doesn't speak to his CFO (chief financial officer).

"All of us have been investigated diligently and, as far as we understand, there is a team is in minor breach, which is more procedural, and another team that is fundamentally massively over and that is still being looked after. That is an open secret in the paddock.

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Mercedes team principal Wolff says that Red Bull are being investigated after Horner remained adamant that Red Bull had not gone over the cost cap

"I think there is a governance in place that is very solid that the FIA have set up and you are going to be issued a certificate of compliance and if you are not compliant it goes to the cost cap adjudication panel with independent judges, and they can then choose from these penalties the appropriate one."

The FIA said in a statement on Friday night: "The FIA is currently finalising the assessment of the 2021 financial data submitted by all Formula 1 teams. Alleged breaches of the Financial Regulations, if any, will be dealt with according to the formal process set out in the regulations."

Following Wolff's series of interviews with the media, along with bosses from other teams publicly discussing the topic, the sport's governing body added: "The FIA notes significant and unsubstantiated speculation and conjecture in relation to this matter, and reiterates that the assessment is ongoing and due process will be followed without consideration to any external discussion."

Amid their domination of the 2022 season, there has been speculation in recent weeks that Red Bull have developed a new lightweight chassis, that could further their advantage over their rivals.

Speaking ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Verstappen said, perhaps in jest, that he had made a deal with his team that if he won the previous race in Monza (which he did) with their heavier version of the chassis, he would continue to use it at this race.

Wolff referenced the rumoured development as he continued his criticism, citing the knock-on effects over-spending in 2021 may have had.

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David Croft and Anthony Davidson takes us through all of the major talking points from Friday practice of the Singapore GP

He said: "The crucial part is that if you have been over in 2021, then you've been over in 2022 and that means you have an advantage into 2023. If it's true that they formulated a lightweight chassis this year, they may use it the next year, so it's really a cascade of events that can influential on all of the three championships.

"This is heavyweight, it's massively heavyweight.

"We are using used parts, we are not running what we want to run, we are not developing what we could be developing.

"We have made more than 40 people redundant that are dearly missed in our organisation and it was a huge, mammoth operation to make the cap.

"I don't know how many tens of millions we had to restructure and reprocess in order to be below the cap and if someone has been not doing that or pushing the boundaries, every million is a massive disadvantage.

"Even if it's the so-called minor breach that can be below five per cent, you can spend seven million more than everybody else, and that means if this is a light penalty, we will all be pushing those five per cent more going forward."

Speaking separately to BBC Sport, Wolf added: "It is of huge importance for a demonstration that these regulations are policed and I have no reason to believe otherwise.

"The FIA, particularly Mohammed (Ben Sulayem), has shown a pretty robust stance on enforcing all kinds of regulations. So if we are talking now about something big, he will show the same integrity and leadership that he has done before."

Later, in an interview with PA, Wolff, who spoke directly to Ben Sulayem on Friday night, added: "I don't know by how much Red Bull have overshot, and where, and what that means as a consequence for last year's championship, this year's championship and next year's championship.

"The catalogue of potential penalties is huge. And the independent judges will come to their conclusions.

"We have had a massive restructuring process in the organisation to save $50m, and it has been overwhelming, distracting and a development deterrent. If somebody has been challenging that system, it is a major difference between
winning and finishing third.

"We are 10 kilos overweight at the moment, and that is three tenths of a second. For $2m, we could have taken 10 kilos out, and produced two lighter chassis so we are talking about a second or more in performance.

"I have seen Mohammed act on regulations, minor or major, and what I like in the new system, whether it is Ferrari or Mercedes, is that they just follow the regulations. The FIA will do the right thing, and judge what the impact of such a breach was."

On Saturday, Horner hit out at rival F1 teams for making "fictitious claims" about Red Bull. Horner, as he had done on Friday, insisted Red Bull were confident in their submission, and hinted at the possibility of legal action as he described comments from other teams as "defamatory" and said the team are "looking at what options" are available to them.

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