Max Verstappen's maiden Formula 1 world title is safe after the FIA decided against docking points as punishment for Red Bull breaching cost cap rules.
F1's governing body accused the team of a "minor" overspend during the 2021 season. Red Bull initially denied this, but it later became clear that there had been a mix-up over whether or not some specific details would or would not be included in the budget cap.
Red Bull and the FIA have come to an 'accepted breach agreement' over the issue, which sees the team take responsibility for breaking the rules and accept a punishment. They will be forced to pay a hefty fine of £6m as a result, with a sporting penalty on top.
But while it was in the FIA's power to retrospectively dock points from the team or their drivers, they decided instead it would be more appropriate to dock the team some vital aero testing time in 2023. This could significantly hamper Red Bull when it comes to their car development for the following season.
The FIA's announcement revealed that Red Bull had overspent by £1,864,000, which was 1.6% of the total cap. The governing body also acknowledged that a significant proportion of that had come from a tax credit which was not applied correctly – had that not been the case, the figure would have come down to £432,652, or 0.37% of the cap.
Red Bull have called a press conference at 5.30pm UK time, where they are expected to go into further detail about the subject.
The FIA's official document pointed to 13 different areas that have been identified in terms of items that Red Bull had incorrectly excluded in their own submissions. These included that tax bill, social security contributions and apprenticeship levies.
But also included were some sporting matters. For example, there was an "understatement of relevant costs" which related to "the cost of use of power units", while there had also been a clerical error in respect to costs charged by the team's Red Bull Power Trains engine development programme.
Other areas of overspend which had been rumoured, such as on catering costs and spending on travel, also turned out to be correct. The governing body made it clear their belief that Red Bull did not deliberately go over the cost cap, or act in bad faith.
Rounding off the statement, the FIA said: "The decision of the cost cap administration to enter into the ABA constitutes its final decision resolving this matter, and is not subject to appeal."
In a separate announcement the FIA also revealed it had reached an ABA with Aston Martin over their procedural breach of the rules. As a result, they must pay a £388,000 fine, though no sporting penalty was given to the Silverstone-based team.
