21/10/2022
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have leapt to their team's defence as budget cap breach row builds.
Though the issue has dominated the last two race weekends, it was only after the Japanese Grand Prix, at which Verstappen secured his title, that the FIA officially confirmed that Red Bull had exceeded the cap.
Speaking for the first time since the FIA's statement, and at a time Red Bull is pondering whether to accept an ‘Accepted Breach Agreement' offered by the sport's governing body, Verstappen hit out at those seeking a harsh punishment for the Austrian outfit.
"Nothing has been confirmed yet," he told reporters at the Circuit of the Americas, "but as a team we know what we have to deal with and we are very clear with what we think is correct.
"It's still ongoing," he continued, "and at the end of the day it's not my job, it's between the team and the FIA.
"I think it's mainly because we're doing well," he added. "They try to slow us down in any way possible. That's how Formula 1 works. Everyone is at the end of the day a bit hypocritical."
Since the FIA's report on the breach, Red Bull has remained silent, other than a brief statement in which it claimed to be "surprised and disappointed" at the findings, insisting that there was no breach.
Ahead of a rumoured statement from the team, Sergio Perez also spoke in the Austrian team's defence.
"We believe that we are in line and we believe that everything will come up in the right situation," said the Mexican. "Obviously, I will leave it down to my team to solve that together with the FIA, but at the end of the day, there's always teams that want to take performance out of you, especially when you are winning, so it's part of the sport and this has been forever and I just think that it will be… it's just a normal situation and everything.
"At the end of the day facts will come out and people will see and understand the situation," he added.