Seidl not interested in Red Bull ‘fairytale’ | Penalty doesn’t fit their breach
Governing body the FIA announced on Friday that Red Bull have been handed a $7m fine and a 10 percent reduction in aerodynamic testing time for the next 12 months after being found guilty of breaking F1’s $145m spending limit last year.
Red Bull “begrudgingly” struck an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) with the FIA following extensive talks ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix, with team principal Christian Horner calling the penalty “enormous” and “draconian”.
But Seidl doesn’t feel the punishment fits the crime and hopes any further breaches of F1’s financial regulations are met with more severe sanctions.
Asked by Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz if he had listened to Horner’s news conference ahead of F1 practice in Mexico City, Seidl replied: “No, I didn’t listen to it because I can imagine it was another fairytale hour, probably. Not really interested in that.
“In the end, on a positive side I think it’s good to see the FIA did a good job in terms of doing the audit. Nine teams got it right and it was clear one team was in breach, so that’s a positive outcome.
“But on a negative side, it’s also clear, from my point of view, that the penalty doesn’t fit the breach. I just hope moving forward we have stricter penalties in place.”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown wrote a letter to the FIA two weeks ago in which he stressed that any breach of the cost cap would “constitute cheating” and called for harsh punishments.
Although he did not reference Red Bull directly in the leaked letter, Horner took aim at his rival’s comments during a fiery press conference in Austin last weekend.
On Friday, Horner suggested up to six teams could be in breach of this year’s $140m budget cap, but Seidl dismissed his counterpart’s claim.
“There’s absolutely no reason to be in breach this year,” Seidl said. “We had good discussions earlier this year with all teams, the FIA and F1 regarding these topics.
“That’s why the cap was adjusted and it was also made clear from all teams and the FIA’s side that there is absolutely no reason, after this positive decisions in the interests of the sport, that there is any breach at the end of the year.
“I just hope if there is any breach, it ends up being appropriate penalties.”
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
