Red Bull Boss Teases Max Verstappen to Dress Down for the Budget Cap in the Presence of the Man Who Fined Them $7 Million

The FIA officially crowned Red Bull and Max Verstappen World champions for 2022 on December 10, Friday. It was the annual FIA gala, with everyone dressed up for the Black-Tie event in Bologna, Italy. Though the reigning champion, Verstappen requested the FIA president Ben Sulayem to tweak the dress code going forward.

During the press conferences of all the champions and runners-up, FIA President Ben Sulayem invited F1 champion Max Verstappen to the floor. Accompanying Verstappen was his teammate Sergio Perez and team boss Christian Horner. They reflected on their season and how amazing it felt to win the constructors’ title after 9 years.

Then came a funny moment when Verstappen joked about the dress code for the Prize giving ceremony. As the event in Bologna was a black-tie event, everyone had to dress up sharply in suits with a bow tie.

But Max suggested to Sulayem that he would love to do the whole ceremony in jeans and casual wear. Max said, “I would happily do it [the FIA Gala] in Jeans.”

And, on this, Christian Horner quickly joked about the budget cap. He said, “Yea Put [the dress code costs] it in the Budget Cap.”

Apparently, Horner supported Max’s initiative of dressing down and including the same in the budget cap. It might help them budget better to avoid the breach penalties.

Read More: FIA Vigorously Defends Handling of Red Bull’s $7M Budget Cap Penalty

Red Bull entered into an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) with the FIA over their 2021 budget cap breach. The FIA has penalized them with a $7 million fine and a 10% reduction of aerodynamic testing time for 2023.

Max Verstappen expressed his 2nd title was more Rewarding and Enjoyable

As Max Verstappen received his world championship trophy at the FIA Gala in Italy, he expressed how it felt different in 2022. Verstappen differentiated his 2021 title to be more emotional as it was his first championship.

Though the way Red Bull has dominated this season, Verstappen surely enjoyed winning more races. And 2022 was also special for the team, given they won both the drivers and constructors titles. Thus, Max called the 2022 title more rewarding and enjoyable compared to his fierce 2021 battle.

Meanwhile, Max also felt the Milton Keynes team was more competitive this year than in 2021. Last year Mercedes developed brilliantly over the season and was arguably the faster car going into the final few races. Yet Max prevailed over Lewis Hamilton to clinch his first title.

Christian Horner has stated that the aero-testing penalty will hurt Red Bull next season. So they may not be as dominant as this year. But the way Verstappen is driving, it is hard to bet against him for the 2023 title.

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What do you think? Can Verstappen carry on his streak next year? And if he does, should the FIA Gala’s dress code be changed to casual wear?