Christian Horner insists he is “absolutely confident” in Red Bull’s submission as the team face a nervious wait to discover if they have broken Formula 1’s cost-cap rules.
The FIA was set to reveal on Wednesday which teams have complied with last term’s budget of $145million (£114m) but an announcement at around 4pm BST confirmed that the report won’t be released until Monday – a day after the Japanese Grand Prix. The FIA said: “The analysis of financial submissions is a long and complex process that is ongoing and will be concluded to enable the release of the Certificates on Monday, 10 October.”
In the build-up to Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix, which was won by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, the team faced unproven claims that they went beyond that figure – possibly by more than five per cent, which would equate to more than $7.25m (£5.6m). Red Bull deny the accusations.
Sanctions available to the FIA for a breach range from a reprimand, to financial penalties, to the deduction of drivers’ points, and even exclusion from last year’s championship, won by Max Verstappen in thrilling fashion against Lewis Hamilton.
