“It’s Tricky…”: Williams F1 Boss Reveals How Restaurant Food Almost Cost Max Verstappen His Maiden World Championship

Did Red Bull give out too many energy drink cans to its team in 2021? This is what one might think upon finding out that Red Bull breached the Cost Cap due to ‘Catering Costs’ for the 2021 season.

One may also say that it might have cost Max Verstappen his World Championship. Williams’ Jost Capito put forth his thoughts on how the food situation works for F1 teams and how it has affected the Cost Cap.

The FIA found Red Bull in an ‘overspend breach’ amounting to $2.2 million over the cost cap limit. This amount was further classified and about $432,000 were claimed as Catering Costs. The remaining amount was due to a tax credit issue.

Red Bull interpreted that food costs for the team were not a part of the budget cap. Their interpretation and financial submission only accounted for all of the car development costs and any other operational costs.

Jost Capito on Red Bull’s Catering Dilemma and how it may have cost Max Verstappen his first title

As per Motorsport-total.com, Williams CEO and Team boss Jost Capito spoke about how it’s tricky to balance food costs. He said, “For example, if the team eat in the [paddock] hospitality for the evening, it falls under the cost cap. If they eat outside in a restaurant, it does not fall under the cost cap. These are still things that have to be clarified in the regulations.”

The 64-year-old German stated that it’s difficult for teams on where to eat with respect to safety and costs. He mentioned, “For the team, it is much cheaper, simpler and less complicated if they eat in the hospitality and there is less risk. And yet you can’t do that because then it falls under the cost cap and if you eat outside, it doesn’t.”

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Looking at Capito’s explanation, it does seem like a precarious balance that Red Bull may have faltered to achieve in terms of food costs. Did they have too much food and drinks during Verstappen‘s post-race celebration parties?

On another note, the FIA needs to be explicit to avoid such breaches by teams. Else it can cost Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton, their championships.

Capito also said that these regulations need clarity on what cost heads should be included in the Cost cap. The FIA needs to be clear and specific on several cost heads’ inclusion or exclusion. This will avoid interpretation errors like Red Bull on the catering costs. These financial regulations have been complex. Several team principals have said that they cannot get it 100% right from Year 1.

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Teams have been batting in F1 for a long time. Be it on track or in the paddock. Although these budget cap regulations are a completely different battlefield in the context of the sport. What do you think? Will we see more teams breaching the Cost Cap from 2022 onwards?