Ferrari: Real effect of Red Bull penalty 'very limited'

Ferrari isn't happy with Red Bull's budget cap penalty, insisting the sanction doesn't fit the crime while its real effect will be "very limited".

Red Bull was fined $7 million by the FIA for an overspend of £1.8 million (approximately $2 million) that involved 13 different areas.

But the team was also hit with a 10% reduction of its aerodynamic testing hours, a sporting penalty that Red Bull team boss Christian Horner labeled as "draconian".

Yet Mekies is convinced that overall, Red Bull's overspend will benefit the team's development more than a reduction in aero testing will take away from it.

"We have talked a lot in recent weeks about what one can do with half a million more, or a million or two or three," said Mekies. "Two million is a significant amount and we have given our opinion several times on this topic.

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"We at Ferrari think that this amount is worth around a couple of tenths [per lap] and so it’s easy to understand that these figures can have a real impact on the outcome of the races, and maybe even a championship."

Mekies pointed out that Red Bull's reduction in aerodynamic testing will free up dollars that the Milton Keynes-based outfit will inevitably spend elsewhere. The net result will be beneficial to Red Bull argues the Frenchman.

"As for the penalty, we are not happy with it, for two important reasons," said Mekies. "The first is that we at Ferrari do not understand how the 10% reduction of the ATR (aerodynamic testing reduction) can correspond to the same amount of lap time that we mentioned earlier.

"Furthermore, there is another problem in that. Since there is no cost cap reduction in the penalty, the basic effect is to push the competitor to spend the money elsewhere.

"It has total freedom to use the money it can no longer spend on use of the wind tunnel and CFD due to the 10% reduction, on reducing the weight of the car, or who knows what else.

"Our concern is that the combination of these two factors means the real effect of the penalty is very limited."

Finally, Mekies hopes that F1 teams won't have to wait until next October for the results of the FIA's audit into this year's financial accounts.

"We have no choice but to move on and I believe it is very important for us and also for the whole of F1 and the fans, that for 2022, we do not have to wait until next October to see the outcome of the accounts," he said.

"We will support the FIA to do what is needed to reach a conclusion as quickly as possible."

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