Sergio Perez believes the “facts will come out” over Red Bull’s breach of last year’s Formula 1 cost cap, reiterating the team’s belief that it is “in line” with the $145m limit.
Red Bull was judged to be the only team to have exceeded the 2021 cost cap in a statement released by the FIA on the Monday after the Japanese Grand Prix.
Details on how far the team has overspent has not been made public, and in the build up to this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, it is understood an offer has been made to Red Bull by the FIA of an ‘accepted breach agreement’.
Should Red Bull be prepared to accept the offer and admit to breaching F1’s rules, it would likely result in a less severe penalty than if it wanted to fight the proposed sanctions.
Speaking to the media in Austin on Thursday, Perez was clear over where Red Bull stands on the matter.
“We believe we are in line [with the cost cap],” said Perez, as quoted by The Race. “We believe everything will come up in the right situation.
“There’s always teams that want to take performance out of you – especially when you are winning. It’s part of the sport and this has been forever. It’s just a normal situation.
“At the end of the day facts will come out and people will see and understand the situation.”
It emerged earlier this week that McLaren CEO Zak Brown wrote a letter to the FIA calling for severe penalties to be applied as he felt a clear breach of the cap would “constitute cheating”.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has continuously denied his team overspent last year’s budget cap and even threatened legal action against rival teams prior to the FIA’s statement.
Newly-crowned double world champion Max Verstappen also gave his take on the controversy, stating Red Bull was aware of the impending investigation but reasserted that the team “really believe that we are right”.
“It’s something between the team and the FIA,” Verstappen added. “From our side, we have a strong belief that we were in it [within the cost cap] so that’s why of course we are discussing with them about it to show what we think is right.
“But at the end of the day it’s not up to me, I’ll just focus on the performance on track.”
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