Christian Horner does not believe that Red Bull owe an apology following their breach of the 2021 cost cap. It was confirmed on 28 October that the team are required to pay a $7 million fine and forfeit 10% of their aerodynamic development allowance after agreeing a settlement with the FIA for breaching the $145m budget cap by $1.8m. The announcement followed on from weeks of speculation about the breach, with rumours first circulating over the Singapore Grand Prix weekend. Horner criticised the nature of comments made about the issue by rival team bosses at the time. On 10 October, the FIA confirmed that Red Bull had been found to have committed a Minor Overspend Breach offence, as well as procedural ones, while Aston Martin had committed a procedural breach.
Horner doesn't believe Red Bull should apologise
In light of Red Bull's punishment being confirmed, Horner faced the media and was quizzed on whether he felt that the Milton Keynes squad should apologise to other teams, as well as to fans of Formula 1. Horner suggested that the apology should instead come from some of the outfit's rivals. "To be honest with you, I think we're probably due an apology from some of our rivals for some of the claims that they've made," Horner told media, including RacingNews365.com . "We make no apology for the way that we've performed, the way that we've acted."
Horner: Now is time to move on
However, Horner believes that the team can learn from what has happened and then move on from the saga. "We do take on the chin that there are lessons to be [learned]," he added. "Potentially mistakes have been made in our submission which, with the benefit of hindsight and 20/20 vision, everybody can be a specialist. "But there was no intent, there was nothing dishonest and there was certainly no cheating involved, which has been alleged in certain corners. "I don't feel that we need to apologise. I think that there are lessons that have been learned. I think that everybody can learn from this, and hopefully now the chapter can... We've taken our pounding in public. "We've taken a very public pounding, through the accusations that have been made through other teams. We've had our drivers booed at circuits, and the reputational damage that's been made by allegations has been significant. "The time is now for that to stop, and now to move on."
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