Cashgate: Toto Wolff reacts to Christian Horner threatening legal action

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is certain the “FIA is going to do the right thing”, following growing speculation that Red Bull are one of two teams to have exceeded the 2021 budget cap.



Whilst official certificates of approval are expected to be handed out by the FIA on Wednesday to the teams who kept below the cap last season, it’s believed that Red Bull and Aston Martin won’t be getting one.



The two teams are believed to have massively exceeded the budget cap last season, with the Austrians reportedly having overspent by more than $7 million.



Should the rumours be true, then it will become one of the biggest scandals in the recent history of the sport, with the possibility that the team could be awarded a fine or a points deduction as a punishment.







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There is a slim chance that Max Verstappen might have his 2021 World Championship taken off him, with there being the possibility that the Dutchman benefitted from essentially ‘illegal’ money towards upgrades.



Wolff and Ferrari’s Laurent Mekies have been speaking about the revelation very openly; however, the pair have been accused of making defamatory comments by Red Bull boss Christian Horner.



Horner has stated that the team will consider options available to them should the two bosses not retract their comments, leading to Wolff believing that he needs to “spend time watching” Horner’s rant.



“I didn’t see that interview,” stated Wolff when asked if he’s afraid of being sued by Red Bull.



“Maybe I should spend time watching it. That’s noise.



“At the end, there is a process. On Wednesday, there are going to be certificates of compliance that are going to be issued or not and then if somebody has not complied, there is a process and governance that is in place.



“For me, I am 100 per cent sure the FIA is going to do the right thing, so everything else is all chatter until then.



“Plus, it is important that the cost cap is being complied to. It is a cornerstone to the new regulations and I very much hope that all of the teams have done that.”



What the exact punishment will be, nobody knows, with the list of viable options being fairly extensive.



There are reports that both Aston Martin and Red Bull will be handeda fine and given less wind tunnel time; whether these rumours are accurate could be discovered as soon as Wednesday.



No matter when the certificates and potential punishments are awarded, Wolff has full confidence in the FIA to deal with the matter correctly.




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“I have no reason to doubt the FIA will not 100 per cent act on their own governance or their own regulations because they know how important it is going forward,” said Wolff.



“We are all aware the regulations, be it technical, sporting, and now financial, have to be regulated, policed in the right way and we just need to adhere.



“[I have] 100 per cent confidence in the process and in the FIA and that is why everything else is noise.”
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