Christian Horner claims F1 title fight will end up in court if FIA doesn’t act on cost cap

The Red Bull boss insists that F1 teams should be allowed to spend more because of the rise in transport costs

Red Bull Racing currently lead both F1 championships. (Getty Images)

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has claimed that up to half of Formula 1 teams will breach the sport’s cost cap if governing body the FIA does not opt to raise it, and warned that the battle for the 2022 championship could end up in court.

All ten F1 teams are limited to an annual budget of $140m to run their 2022 season, comprising costs spent in every area including car parts, staff salaries, and shipping. The cost cap is designed to prevent teams from overspending and causing themselves financial problems, but Horner says the cost-of-living crisis and rises in inflation are an exceptional circumstance which mean the cap should be raised significantly.

“The way you design your car is within your control,” Horner told Sky Sports F1 after practice for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. “You are in control of your own destiny. We’re not in control of what’s going on in the world right now, with fuel cost rises, inflation going up to 11%. That’s a direct impact on staff, commmodities, supply of parts. I think it’s a case of force majeure. It’s not about income, it’s about this one-off effect of inflation that effects people.”

Earlier this season Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto claimed that Red Bull may have burnt through a chunk of their annual budget in an attempt to develop their 2022 car and gain an advantage ober his team in the fight for the drivers’ and constructors’ titles, impying that Horner wants the cap raised in order to suit his own agenda rather than for the good of the sport as a whole.

But Horner, who has managed the Red Bull team since it entered F1 after taking over the former Jaguar squad in 2005, insists that other teams will find it impossible to remain inside the cost cap and warned that the FIA could be taken to court if action is not taken.

“The top teams would have to get rid of circa 2-300 people next year to stay within the cost cap,” Horner claimed. “If the cost cap fails badly, it’ll be gone forever. We need to find a solution for an issue nobody could have ever predicted. About 50% of teams are going to be in breach of the cap if things don’t change. We don’t want a championship decided in front of a court or the FIA in Paris, they need to act now.”