Red Bull ‘had suspicions raised’ after FIA hired Wolff’s ex-colleague

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Red Bull have harboured suspicions over the FIA appointment of former Mercedes advisor Shaila-Ann Rao, according to reports. It comes amid speculation over how the team will be punished for breaching salary cap regulations. 

The FIA are yet to decide the penalty after it was found that Red Bull had overspent by £2million in Max Verstappen’s world title-winning 2021 season. Red Bull are apparently ‘irritated’ over the communication coming from and within the governing body. 

And it has now emerged that they held suspicions over the summer appointment of Rao. The former advisor to Toto Wolff took up a high-profile role within the FIA in July, prompting many within the sport to air concerns over a potential conflict of interest. 

Moves within the paddock are common but that has not prevented Red Bull from being apprehensive about Rao’s role. That is according to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, who claim that Red Bull are yet to hear about their punishment. 

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Rao was made general secretary to autosport in the summer. She publicly attempted to quash claims that her move was a matter of conflict of interest. 

“Before I worked for Mercedes, I was director of legal affairs at the FIA. That’s how the world of F1 works, you go from one team to another,” Rao said at the time. 

“It’s full of ex-employees, even [F1 CEO] Stefano Domenicali worked at Ferrari. I’m not worried about certain rumours, I’ll move on and keep doing what I’ve always done – work.” 

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The Daily Mail have reported that Red Bull claim team principal Christian Horner was only told of the budget cap breach an hour after Verstappen retained his world championship on Sunday. Red Bull have been found to have overspent on the £114m cap for 2021. 

Horner and his colleagues have been left furious over the timing of the announcement. The dialogue between the two parties has remained minimal ever since. 

Red Bull want the details of the charge made public so they can prove they did not overspend on performance-related matters. They instead believe the extra spend relates to catering, sick pay and gardening leave. 

They contend the interpretation of the use of unused parts was changed on June 16, three months after they submitted their audited accounts. That came just over a fortnight after Rao left Mercedes. 

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