Toto Wolff appeared satisfied with the punishment Red Bull have been given for breaking cost cap rules last season.
The FIA finally revealed how much Red Bull overspent by in 2021 in a statement on Friday. They also laid out the punishment that Christian Horner has "begrudgingly" agreed to accept, which includes a £6m fine and a 10% reduction in wind tunnel testing time over the next 12 months.
Fans are split over whether or not it is enough of a deterrent to make the cost cap worth sticking to for teams in the future. But the Mercedes boss feels the fact it would be a PR disaster alone is enough of a reason not to break the rules.
"Beyond the sporting penalty and fine, there is also reputational damage," the Austrian told Sky Sports. "In a world of transparency and good governance, it's just not on any more. Whatever team you are, you're responsible for representing a brand, your employees and your partners, and that's why for us it wouldn't be [something they would do]."
In a press conference earlier in the day, Red Bull chief Horner admitted his team could have taken steps to avoid this saga "in hindsight", but still made it clear he felt the items that they did not include in their accounting that the FIA should not have been part of the cap total.
In response, Wolff seemed to have little sympathy and explained that his team had purposely left some spare cash in case of any disputed items. "You need to build in a bit of leeway, you can't take an aggressive approach at the beginning because it's a process – it's learning on the job," he said.
Summing up his feelings on the subject, he added: "What is the most important thing is there is a robust governance. [The FIA] didn't bat an eyelid, they just followed the process. I know how rigorous they were with us all throughout the year, that was a difficult process. Overall, it's good to see there is a penalty, whether we deem it too low or too high.
"It's a sport of marginal gains, and whether it is £200k or £2m, at the end everything contributes to performance. We all had to cover sick pay, gardening leaves, and the canteen. Nine teams were okay, one team was in breach."
Asked if this has drawn a line under the discussion, Wolff replied: "I would very much hope so. We've closed the '21 number, so let's see what [Red Bull] do with the '22 submission. I think they will have every interest to get it right this time, so hopefully it's enough of a deterrent so it doesn't happen again with any team."
