Red Bull boss Christian Horner is confident his team didn’t break Formula One’s budget cap last year.
Horner is angry at the accusationsahead of the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, Red Bull breached last year’s $145 million limit, which would lead to sanctions against his team if true.
On Wednesday, the FIA will issue certificates of compliance to teams that spent in the rules last year.
When asked if he was worried about whether Red Bull would receive one, Horner replied: “No, I mean, I have complete confidence in our submission. It’s been through a rough patch. process. It happened in March, in terms of [being] fully signed off by our auditors, who are obviously one of the three adults. And we believe we are comfortable within limits.
“So the FIA is monitoring their process. We hope, and likely this week, not only us, but all the teams, to hear about the outcome of that process.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has reported a breach of the budget limit will be a “heavy” problem for F1added that he believes one team was significantly abusive.
Horner reiterated Red Bull’s threat of legal action against anyone who hinted they broke the line, pointing out that teams should not be aware of their rival financial audits.
“What I’ve said makes perfect sense,” Horner said. “We will weigh all our options. And it is completely unacceptable to make a completely baseless allegation. And based on what knowledge? Where is the source of the information?
“This is a confidential submission between the team and the FIA. I’m not aware of any of our opponents’ compliance. So where is that information supposed to come from?”
Horner believes the budget cap will become easier for the FIA to examine and monitor after the first few years, pointing out that a lot of gray areas remain in the regulations as they are drafted.
“This is a completely new set of regulations, very complex and applicable to companies with different structures, different formulations and of course regulations,” he said.
“There are always different interpretations of those regulations. So for the first year, it will be interesting to see how it applies.
“We’ve seen clear explanations, even since the submission was made, that apply to last year. So it’s always been an evolutionary process.”
