Christian Horner says six teams could breach cost cap in 2022

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Christian Horner has predicted as many as six teams could break F1’s budget cap this season as costs spiral. The Red Bull boss predicted many of the team’s rivals are set to fall foul of the rules and stressed they could face tougher penalties.

He said: “I think what we have set is a precedent. And it sets a precedent for 2022. And a danger for 2022 is that there could be six teams in breach of the cap. Energy prices have been exponential, but thankfully we’ve been protected from that.

“But there is that chance that several teams, many of which have stated it during F1 commission meetings, will break the cap this year.” Red Bull were hit with a 10 per cent reduction in wind tunnel allowance and CFD testing for next season.

The team were also issued a hefty £6.4million ($7mil) fine for breaching the cost cap last year. The team were found to have broken the allowance by £1.8million ($2.2mil) but the FIA accepted this would have been just £432,000 ($0.5mil) if Red Bull had filed their taxes properly.

This would have equated to a minor 0.37 per cent breach of the 2021 cap. Horner insisted Red Bull were unlikely to break the cap again this season as they had spent less than their rivals.

He claimed other teams had introduced “significantly more components” over the course of the year so far. Horner also stressed the team had not suffered as much crash damage in 2022 which had played a part.

But, the Red Bull boss suggested their rivals could face tougher penalties next season with their minor breach setting a tough precedent. He added: “We do not believe that we will break the cap in 2022, for the reasons I explained earlier. But these penalties set precedent for the future.

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“So if you get 10 per cent for 0.37 per cent breach, what is the 5 per cent breach going to be?” Red Bull also made clear there were many “one-off” costs associated with the team overspending last season.

The FIA found the team had broken the cap in 13 areas including catering costs and apprenticeship levies.

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