21/10/2022
NEWS STORY
Valtteri Bottas has added his voice to the growing number of drivers calling for the FIA to come down hard on Red Bull after it breached the budget cap.
The Finn, who previously drove for Mercedes, but is now with Alfa Romeo, which is powered by Ferrari, and like the German manufacturer a fierce critic of the breach, was speaking as the United States Grand Prix weekend kicked off at the Circuit of the Americas.
"I feel like rules are the rules and if you don't follow them, there should be a penalty that really hurts," he told reporters. "I personally hope that it's going to be a strict and harsh penalty because that shouldn't happen, rules are the rules.
"There's many rules in F1," he continued, "and there should be no difference in terms of the penalty. So let's hope so, that it's a good penalty that really, really hurts them because, I was sitting in the fight last year for the constructors. Yes, we got that but we missed the drivers title by a few points and a few millions, it can make a big, big difference."
Sitting alongside the Finn at the FIA press conference was Carlos Sainz, the Ferrari driver equally keen to seen the FIA act.
"I think every team and every driver, we just want clarity, first of all, and second, fairness," said the Spaniard. "We all know how much 1, 2, 3, 4 - I don't know what's the number - million can make to car development and car speed in Formula 1. That's why years ago everyone was spending 350 million, or the top three teams were spending 350 million, and now we're spending 150 to keep these things under control.
"I just hope that if there's a penalty," he continued, "the penalty is relatively important to take the appetite away from overspending 2 or 3 million to waste on next year's car because you think next year's car is worth it more than the other year, and then you take a penalty for ignoring it.
"I just think it needs to be fair play for everyone," he added. "If there's a cost cap, it's there to be followed and I just hope that the FIA takes the right decisions to make sure that everyone follows it."