Red Bull overspend due to “free staff lunch every day”
Christian Horner’s team were found guilty by the FIA of exceeding the $145m cap by less than 5 percent ($7.25m) although they claim that “our belief remains” no rules were broken.
Red Bull were $1m-$2m in excess of the cost cap, a report from Dutch newspaper Telegraaf says.
Daily free lunch for many of their 1,000 members of staff at their Milton Keynes headquarters is a key contributor to Red Bull’s overspend, the report states.
Costs over absent staff, due to illness, also contributed alongside catering fees.
Red Bull expect a fine as their punishment, the report concludes.
The FIA also found Aston Martin guilty of a procedural breach.
They will be fined as their punishment, similarly to how Williams were fined $25,000 earlier this season for a procedural error, the same report says.
Max Verstappen sealed his second consecutive F1 championship at the weekend by winning the F1 Japanese Grand Prix and making his lead in the F1 standings insurmountable. Last year he edged Lewis Hamilton at the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to win his maiden title.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
