Red Bull and FIA disagree over budget calculation

On Monday, the FIA announced that Red Bull had exceeded its 2021 budget cap. The exact amount was not disclosed, but it would be less than five per cent of the budget. Red Bull was quick to respond with a statement saying that the team does not agree with this statement, and that according to its own calculations, spending was within limits.

The difference reportedly lies mainly in how the two sides interpret certain expenses. For example, Red Bull would not include employees' medical expenses in the calculation, but the FIA does.

Adrian Newey' s salary point of discussion

The calculations of the budget cap do not include the salaries of the three highest-paid employees. However, the two sides do not quite agree on the exact interpretation of this. In particular, which category Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey falls into is a point of disagreement.

As the designer of the car, Newey is indispensable to Red Bull's team. As such, the team also sees him as one of the three big earners who therefore does not fall within the limits of the budget ceiling. But according to the FIA, things are different. Newey is in fact affiliated to Red Bull on a consultancy contract. So according to the FIA, he does not count as a permanent employee, but in fact as a self-employed worker, and therefore his salary would indeed fall under the budget.

This means that if the FIA is right, Red Bull has tried to save money in its budget by including Newey among the big earners instead of including his salary in the budget. Another engineer, much less paid, would then take Newey's place in the budget, making more money available for the development of the car.

It is still unknown what the exact punishment for Red Bull will be, or when that ruling will follow. Red Bull has said it will follow the proceedings and await the verdict, but will explore all possible options available to the team.