Red Bull set to get wings clipped over budget row

Breach settlement means Verstappen likely to keep title but big fine on cards

Formula One’s budget-cap row was due to finally come to a head in Mexico overnight, with Red Bull addressing the issue at a press conference at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

It is thought Red Bull and the FIA have reached terms on an accepted breach agreement.

That was what they were working towards in Austin last week before the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz put talks on hold.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it was “not the team’s intention” to drag out the process by taking the matter to adjudication.

All eyes will now be on the severity of the penalty. Max Verstappen’s 2021 title — which he won in hugely controversial circumstances on the final lap of the final race of the season at the expense of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton — is not on the line, given the fact that teams who agree to an accepted breach agreement cannot be docked championship points.

A hefty financial penalty and a minor sporting penalty — for instance, a reduction in research and development, or wind tunnel time — is thought to be more likely.

Red Bull were this month found guilty of “minor” and “procedural” breaches of the US$145 million ($252m) cap, with Aston Martin guilty of a procedural breach only.

A minor overspend equates to anything up to 5 per cent of the total cap (US$7.25m). Red Bull’s overspend is thought to be around US$2m, although they dispute most of that. In particular, Red Bull say they paid US$1.6m needlessly in tax. The FIA is understood to have accepted that as a mitigating factor in their overspend.

Red Bull’s rivals have called for the harshest possible sanctions, arguing any overspend would have handed them a competitive advantage, not only last season, but this season and next as well.

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown even accused Red Bull of “cheating” in a letter to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem this month.

Hamilton, though, said he did not want to see Verstappen’s title taken off him.

“No, because the damage is done,” Hamilton said. “I have my feeling within of what we did as a team, how we achieved it and what we really truly achieved, and I can keep that to myself within me. We gave it our all and we did it the right way, and I am proud of that.”

Meanwhile, Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle has revealed that Brad Pitt contacted him to apologise for failing to stop for a chat on the grid at last weekend’s United States Grand Prix.

Former driver Brundle, famed for his gridwalks, was brushed off by the Hollywood star when he attempted to ask him about the F1 film he is making next season.

The incident triggered a row about the presence of celebrities on the grid and whether they should have to submit to interviews.

Last year, there was a similar row over celebrities’ bodyguards after Brundle was denied access to rapper Megan Thee Stallion by her security. Bodyguards have since been banned from the grid.

“Got a note from Brad Pitt explaining what happened with our near miss on the Austin grid,” tweeted Brundle yesterday. “Unnecessary, but nice of him. Absolutely nobody is obliged to talk to me on the grid, but as I endeavour to make 10/12 minutes of live and unscripted sports TV, I’m obliged to at least ask.”