Ralf Schumacher has called for the FIA to face punishment over a possible leak of information in regards to Red Bull being found to have breached the 2021 budget cap. Speculation emerged over the Singapore Grand Prix weekend that the Milton Keynes-based squad had committed a breach of the financial regulations, with the topic being discussed by many including rival team bosses. Christian Horner hit back at the "unacceptable" accusations and questioned the source of the information, adding that the submission between the team and the FIA is "confidential". It was later confirmed by the FIA on 10 October that Red Bull had committed a Minor Overspend Breach offence, as well as procedural ones, while Aston Martin were also found at fault procedurally but remained below the prescribed limit. In response to the findings, Red Bull released a statement expressing their "surprise and disappointment", and reiterated their belief that their submission was below the cost cap limit. The FIA also reiterates that any suggestion that FIA personnel have disclosed sensitive information is equally baseless.
Schumacher calls for FIA to be investigated
While Schumacher believes that Red Bull should be penalised if they are indeed in breach of the financial regulations, his biggest concern is over how the information emerged before any findings were made official. As such, the former F1 driver thinks that the FIA need to look at themselves. "The ladies and gentlemen of the FIA must now face a detailed investigation into how this is even possible," Schumacher told German publication F1-Insider . "If Red Bull really did break the rules, it should be punished proportionately. But what the FIA has done is unacceptable."
Should the FIA face punishment?
Schumacher added of the situation: "Just imagine if the Ministry of Finance always kept certain companies up to date on the current state of investigations against their competitors. "That would even be criminal." As such, the German hopes that the FIA will carry out a full investigation into what happened. "Everything must be transparently disclosed and in case of an offence, the ladies or gentlemen of the FIA must also be punished accordingly," Schumacher stated.
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