“He’s A Good Friend…”: Bernie Ecclestone Played Puppet-Master In Letting Red Bull Off Easy In Budget Cap Punishment

Since Liberty Media took over Formula 1, the sport has blossomed quite rapidly. However, one cannot forget the enigmatic Bernie Ecclestone. He was at the helm of Formula 1 for many decades, and he was known for his business mindset and negotiation skills.

Looking at the current scenario, the Red Bull cost cap saga is possibly one of F1’s biggest blots. Things did not help with the media exposure and the convoluted manner in which it was being dealt with. In a nutshell, it was a mess. And now it turns out that Ecclestone was the man who played a key role in resolving the entire fiasco.

According to Corriere della Sera, Bernie Ecclestone was involved in negotiating a penalty for Red Bull’s cost cap breach. Reports suggest that He’s a good friend of Christian Horner and Mohammed Ben Sulayem, so both parties were happy about having Ecclestone involved.

The report said, “The FIA ​​president, Ben Sulayem, understood that a compromise should be sought as soon as the federal controllers reported the infringement, deciding to personally manage each step. With an exceptional councilor, Bernie Ecclestone. The former father and F1 boss is a friend and supporter of the president…” [Translated using Google]

“Who [Ecclestone] has been very close to Horner for years.”

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Even though the whole matter has been chaotic, the FIA has finally come out with the punishment that the Bulls have to face for the cost-cap breach.

FIA finally hands “enormous” penalty to Red Bull for cost cap breach

The FIA’s final decision on the penalty to be imposed on the Milton-Keynes-based outfit has been released. And as things stand, the Bulls have been handed a financial as well as a sporting penalty by the governing body of the sport.

Red Bull has been fined $7 million and a 10% reduction in wind tunnel time for their minor overspend breach. However, Christian Horner believes that this penalty will hit Red Bull hard on track next year.

He said, “Let me tell you now, that is an enormous amount. That represents anywhere between a quarter and half a second’s worth of lap time. That comes in from now, that has a direct effect on next year’s car and it will be in place for a 12 month period.”

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Red Bull have been handed a 10% deduction in their wind tunnel testing allowance. Will this derail the Red Bull dominance trend from 2023 onwards?