Formula 1: Red Bull Racing deny overspending allegations
According to some rumours, Red Bull Racing Team spent around 300 million Euros in 2010, much more than their budget which gave them an advantage over their rivals McLaren and Ferrari.
Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo also stated that he believed Red Bull spent more than they were are allowed to but Dr. Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s team consultant, has denied these rumours.
“Those figures are completely wrong; the truth is less than half of that. Either someone spread these false figures deliberately, or he cannot read a balance sheet,” team consultant Dr. Marko told the media.
Red Bull Racing Team won both the constructors’ and drivers’ titles in 2010 and they clearly had the best car on the grid throughout the season. The RB6 was versatile and consistent as it enabled the drivers to perform at their best at any track throughout
the season.
Sebastian Vettel became the youngest Formula 1 world champion using the car after he won the grand finale in Abu Dhabi and snatched the drivers’ standings lead from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
Marko stated that Red Bull are actually the fourth-highest spender in the sport and it was later on revealed that the team’s actual budget was around 160 million Euros.
Due to that, Red Bull Racing Team have refused to agree to a new Resource Restriction Agreement for 2011 and it seems that this matter has not been resolved officially yet. The RRA is an agreement which explains a team’s annual budget.
“We are not opposed to saving, it's just that it can't only benefit the teams that are not good enough by only restricting the aerodynamics. We say yes to savings, if the engine areas are affected in the same way,” Marko said.
He claims that Red Bull Racing Team also opposed financial penalties which means that they had to pay other teams in order to ‘supplement their budgets.’
Either way, this matter has not been cleared by the officials yet and it is expected that the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and RRA will reveal the truth in the coming days before the 2011 formula 1 season gets underway in March.
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