Formula 1: Toto Wolff: penalty against Red Bull "not enough for us"

Red Bull's opponents are only partially satisfied with the penalties against the world champion team for violating the Formula 1 cost limit last year.

Formula 1: Toto Wolff: penalty against Red Bull "not enough for us"

Red Bull's opponents are only partially satisfied with the penalties against the world champion team for violating the Formula 1 cost limit last year.

"In general, it's good to see that there's a penalty, whether we think it's too low or too high," Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports. At the specialist portal motorsport.com, the 50-year-old added: "And I think it's like any penalty: for us it's too little, for them (Red Bull) it's too much."

The racing team of two-time world champion Max Verstappen was fined by the international automobile association Fia with a payment of seven million US dollars and a ten percent restriction on the use of aerodynamic tests. Team boss Christian Horner had spoken of a "draconian penalty", especially in view of the shorter time in the wind tunnel. Among other things, he had accused the pursuers of lobbying so that Red Bull would be severely sanctioned.

Little things make the difference in Formula 1

But the fact is that according to the investigations by the Fia, only Red Bull spent more money than allowed and it wasn't just a procedural error. The equivalent of around 2.15 million euros, Red Bull was therefore above the 148.6 million that were allowed in 2021. However, Horner and the Fia also pointed out that this sum was favored by a procedural error, otherwise it would have been around 500,000 US dollars.

"Nine teams followed the rules and stayed below the upper limit," emphasized Wolff: "Formula 1 is a sport in which little things make the difference. If something else is claimed, that's stupid talk." There is no mitigating factor, emphasized the Mercedes team boss.

At Ferrari, they fear that Red Bull will simply invest the money that is freed up there by the less time in the wind tunnel and in the computer simulations elsewhere. "As there is no cost cap on the penalty, the basic effect is to get the competitor to spend the money elsewhere," said Ferrari's sporting director Laurent Mekies on Sky Sport Italia. Ultimately, the Italian team is concerned that the penalties could only have a limited effect.

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