TNT Sports
Christian Horner: Red Bull employees’ kids are being bullied because of ‘fictitious allegations’ of cheating
By
Published 22/10/2022 at 19:32 GMT+1
Team principal Christian Horner has hit out at teams that have hinted at accusations of cheating from Red Bull and claims children of employees have been bullied due to the allegations. Red Bull were found to be in minor breach of the budget cap last year by the FIA, although it is not known what there punishment will be or when everything will come to an end.
Lewis Hamilton races a Top Gun fighter plane
Video credit: SNTV
Christian Horner has slammed accusations of cheating from rival teams and claims children of Red Bull employees are being bullied in school playgrounds.
Red Bull were found to be in minor breach of the budget cap regulations for the 2021 season which has polarised the paddock
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stated it was an “open secret” that one team “massively” overspent whilst McLaren CEO Zak Brown wrote a letter to the FIA that stated any team that breaks the budget cap rules “constitutes cheating”.
“It’s tremendously disappointing for a fellow competitor to accuse you of cheating and fraudulent activity,” Horner told the press.
“It’s shocking, absolutely shocking – without the facts, without any knowledge of the details to make that accusation.
“We’ve been on trial because of public accusation since Singapore with the [accusations] of cheats, or had this enormous benefit.
“The numbers put to the media are miles out of reality. The damage that does to the brand, our partners, to our drivers, to our workers, in an age were mental health is prevalent.
“We are seeing significant issues now within our workforce. Kids are being bullied in playgrounds because they are employees’ children. That is not right because of fictitious allegations from other teams.
“You cannot go round making that kind of allegation without any fact or substance so we absolutely are appalled by the behaviour of some of our competitors.”
Red Bull are in continued talks with the FIA about what the punishment will be, with reports that the Milton Keynes-based outfit overspent the budget cap by $2million last year.
In response to Horner’s comments Brown stated: “My letter set out that if a team spends more than the cap, they will get an advantage.
“The cap is a rule, just like the technical rules in the sport. We are not saying if they did or didn’t [break the rules].
“My letter was ‘if someone has [broken the rules] then here are the things that we think should be addressed.
“No different than if a ride height is incorrect or a flexi-wing, or whatever the case may be. I didn’t mention any teams, it was a general response that we are in the cost cap era, if somebody breaches that, here’s what we think some of the ramifications are.
“I have no idea what the number is. If we had more money to spend, that would put is in a better light for performance with more people, more upgrades – whatever the case may be – we feel it’s a performance benefit.
“That’s up to the FIA if they have or haven’t.”
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement