“They Want to See Blood”: FIA Outrightly Dismisses Accusations From Red Bull’s Rivals After $7 Million Punishment

It seems it’s impossible to keep Red Bull out of the limelight. Sometimes they create a buzz with their dominant performance on the tracks and on other occasions, the Milton Keynes side indulges in controversies. In October, Red Bull was found guilty of breaching the cost cap, and since then the Austrian outfit is at the receiving end of criticism. But now, the FIA has put a full stop to all the accusations coming from Red Bull’s opposition.

Unlike the last year’s controversy on the track, this year’s controversy was much more hectic for the entire team. In October, after the Austrian outfits were found guilty of overspending the set limit by $2.2 million, the FIA handed them a penalty of a $7 million fine and a reduction of 10% in their wind tunnel time.

Post the announcement of the punishment, the opposition felt Red Bull got away easily as they wanted much stricter sanctions. And now putting an end to the matter, FIA president Mohammad Ben Sulayem said that the matter was handled correctly, especially since this was a new challenge, and no other team was given such punishment.

In a conversation with Motorsport.com Sulayem said, “We learned a lot and a big review is going into it. Who knows in the first year what is going to be the outcome? We didn’t even expect it. If you look at the other teams, they will say we have been light on them [Red Bull] And the penalty? Some of them want them to be hanged and they want to see blood.”

“And the [guilty] teams themselves see it as huge on them. So where do you draw that?”

READ MORE: Cheater Cheater Cheater”: Fans Label FIA’s Sanction ‘A F**king Joke’ as Red Bull Gets Away With a Slap on the Wrist

While some of the rivals might feel that the punishment is just a slap on the wrist, Red Bull’s team boss Christian Horner believes it’s a draconian penalty and can cost them up to half a second of lap time next year.

Christian Horner says the penalty can affect Red Bull’s performance

Being the team boss, Christian Horner felt the punishment was draconian and saw some serious implications of the penalty on their performance next season.

Horner during a press conference at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez said, “I hear people say it’s not a severe penalty, but 10 per cent less wind tunnel time and other aerodynamic tools is a draconian penalty. That can cost 0.25sec to 0.5sec [per lap].”

“It will have an impact on our ability to perform on track next year.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Christian Horner Unhappy with 2022 Budget Cap, Calls for Urgent Attention

The Red Bulls were magnificent this season, but they were also kind of fortunate as they didn’t get challenged by rivals. With that, the season 2022 is done, but the upcoming season looks more promising with the F1 calendar going to new venues.