‘Complete nonsense’: Red Bull chief dismisses claims Max Verstappen could lose 2021 title

Red Bull are awaiting their penalty after being found guilty of a ‘minor overspend’ of F1’s 2021 cost cap

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has brandished talk that Max Verstappen could lose his 2021 world title due to the team’s cost cap breach as “complete nonsense.”

Red Bull were found guilty of a “minor financial overspend” of the 2021 budget cap, with one potential penalty a loss of Drivers and/or Constructors’ World Championship points.

Verstappen won last year’s thrilling title battle by a margin of eight points to Lewis Hamilton after a controversial last-lap overtake in Abu Dhabi.

But Marko - echoing Red Bull’s statement on Monday - insists the team has not broken the budget cap, adding that “in the past, extreme violations of the regulations were punished very mildly by the FIA.”

“I don’t want to say too much, just this much,” he told F1-Insider. “We still believe that we didn’t break the cost cap rule at all.

“Discussions with the FIA are ongoing. Let’s see what finally comes out of it.

“As I said we are still not aware of any guilt, which is why discussions with the FIA are still ongoing. But rumours Max could lose his World title in 2021, for example, are complete nonsense.

“The past has shown that even extreme violations of the regulations were punished very mildly by the FIA.”

Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has dismissed claims Max Verstappen could lose his 2021 world title (Getty Images)

The findings showed that the spent more than the £114m cost cap but with the breach not over the 5% “major breach” threshold of £5.7m, the penalty is not likely to result Verstappen losing last year’s World Championship due to a loss of 2021 points.

Red Bull said in a statement that they are “surprised and disappointed” with the findings, insisting that there “2021 submission was below the cost cap limit.”

Red Bull added in their statement: “We need to carefully review the FIA’s findings as our belief remains that the relevant costs are under the 2021 cost cap amount.

“Despite the conjecture and positioning of others, there is of course a process under the regulations with the FIA which we will respectfully follow while we consider all the options available to us.”

Christian Horner said on Monday morning he was “very confident” in Red Bull’s submission, as the team celebrated Verstappen’s second world title following a bizarre end to a dramatic Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.