In Japan, Red Bull and Max Verstappen won the F1 World Cup for the second year in a row – but the team spent a lot of money in 2021.
But they escape punishment. still.
On Sunday, Red Bull and Max Verstappen won the Formula 1 World Championship for the second year in a row. They took the Drivers’ World Championship in Japan with four races remaining in the Formula 1 season.
But there was a lot of confusion after that and it wasn’t quite calm on Monday as Red Bull was suspected of spending more money than was allowed in 2021 and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile was due to announce its calculations on Monday. . .
It took a long time before the news came out, but when it did, the FIA was clear:
Red Bull is guilty of spending a lot of money in 2021.
In Japan, Max Verstappen won the F1 world championship for the second time
So this needs to be investigated further, but Red Bull can now only expect monetary fines. There are no sporting penalties as they can only be handed over when the team exceeds the fixed amount by more than five percent (which in Red Bull’s case means less than $7.3 million).
Aston Martin also spent a lot of money, while Williams should be fined because the team provided information late.
Red Bull remains convinced that the team has stayed within the agreed budget ceiling. The stable is surprised and frustrated by what has now emerged.
– Oracle Red Bull Racing (redbullracing) October 10 2022
Other teams, on the other hand, want the punishment to be harsh.
– For us, it is important that if there is a clear punishment, believe me. Our cars are trying to compete against the best and we have cars that have been developed under a budget figure. We know that even if it’s about spending a little more money than has been said, it also means performance, says Ferrari’s Mattia Binotto.
Five million is about half a second, one or two million is one or two ten, and if you have one of the fastest cars, it’s pole position or number two on the grid. This is around 2021 and after 2021 there is an advantage if you win the next season.
Tractor on the road – unacceptable
Several drivers who drove behind the safety car during the opening laps of the Japanese Grand Prix did not see the lever or whether a tractor was on its way to save Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Pierre Gasly was furious when he found out, but he’s not the only one who responded.
– I was in the beginning and had good vision, says Max Verstappen.
– But when you get back in the queue, you always try to get away from the spray from the car in front of you, and you drive left or right because you see almost nothing. Then things can happen. If you are driving on the left and suddenly there is a crane or other large vehicle on the side of the track, this is dangerous, no matter how fast you are driving. It is definitely something that needs improvement.
Fernando Alonso, who was back in the queue, did not see him, for example.
– I still don’t know where Carlos stands anywhere. I didn’t see a tractor, I didn’t see anything. Behind the safety car I couldn’t see the tractor and I couldn’t see Carlos either, so this was when visibility was at its worst.
Worse than when Jules Bianchi crashed
Daniel Ricciardo hasn’t seen anything either:
– I would have said that I saw him, but no. I did not. I saw him in the replay, when I went back to the garage and thought: I think I saw him, but it was very difficult to see him even on TV pictures.
Even Nicholas Latifi is clear:
– It was one thing for Pierre, he came from the pit and was alone on the track. He wasn’t in contact with the cars in front of him, but I was driving behind the safety car and I could barely see that lever. The Williams driver says he appeared out of nowhere when I was three metres.
– I drove on the outer edge of the track and saw it too late. I think this was worse than what happened here in years. At this time, the crane was on the right track.
When Jules Bianchi got into a waterslide and was so badly injured that he later died in 2014, the bulldozer that was supposed to return Adrian Sutil’s car was several meters off the track.
Vettel and Russell work for improvements in Formula 1
Sebastian Vettel and George Russell, two leaders in the drivers’ organisation, must now address this once and for all.
You see more on the onboard camera than we see, and that’s unacceptable. We’ve talked about not allowing a service vehicle to enter the lane in those weather conditions. Never when the safety car is off the track.
George Russell is also clear in his opinion when he says:
There is a lot of talk about Pierre now, but it is absolutely irrelevant. There were 17 other cars on the track, they also overtaken the tractor without really seeing it. You have to get out of the sprayer to see anything and that means you’re on the line where the jars are. There are no conditions, especially when it is wet, too wet, damp or dry, when it is convenient for the tractor to drive on the track.