Toto Wolff said he is satisfied with the penalty Red Bull received for their budget cap breach in the 2021 season.
One of the bigger off-track Formula 1 news stories this year broke when the FIA announced Red Bull had spent too much in the previous campaign. It came after weeks of speculation that they and Aston Martin had broken the rules, though the governing body made it clear that the latter's violation was a procedural one and not an overspend.
As punishment for their "minor" breach of the regulations, Red Bull were slapped with a £6m fine and had 10% of their wind tunnel testing time taken away over the next 12 months. As they won the 2022 championship, it means they will have significantly less time to test the aerodynamics of their cars in the next year.
That punishment split opinion among F1 fans. Some felt it was fitting and will be detrimental to the team's performance going forward, while others felt it was not strong enough and felt the team had got off lightly.
Wolff, team principal at Red Bull's biggest rivals Mercedes, is among those who feels the punishment was enough to act as a deterrent for the future. "Yes, I think it's okay," said the Austrian when asked for his feelings on the matter in an interview with Polish outlet Swiatwyscigow.
"I think the biggest penalty was not the 10% wind tunnel time or the seven million dollars. I think the biggest penalty was the reputational hit that the team got and, in a way, it's unfair for the Red Bull mother brand which is fantastic in their field.
"But the racing team has just been having such a reputational hit and also the people. So I think nobody is kind of dare bringing it close to that anymore." Those comments, made having had plenty of time to reflect on the situation, were in-keeping with what Wolff said when he gave his first impression of the punishment.
"Beyond the sporting penalty and fine, there is also reputational damage," he said in October. "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]."
Asked by Mirror Sport in a special press conference for his thoughts on whether he feels the penalty will dissuade others from breaking cost cap rules in the future, Red Bull chief Christian Horner said: "It is a strong deterrent for the future, so anyone who diminishes that penalty doesn't know what they're talking about."
