F1 Rumours: Adrian Newey Is The Cause Of Red Bull's 2021 Cost Cap Breach

Adrian Newey's employment could be a "grey area" for the Austrian team.

Recent reports are speculating that Red Bull's breach of the 2021 cost cap came from Adrian Newey's salary. This comes after the FIA revealed that Red Bull had indeed exceeded the cost cap during last year's F1 season.

Defining this breach as "minor", reports suggest that the overspending was less than $7.25 million. But with the FIA releasing no further information, fans of the sport have been questioning where this overspending has come from. 

The top three highest earners within a team aren't included in the budget, but a report from the Netherlands suggests that Newey's employment is a grey area and could potentially where Red Bull has overshot in their budget. 

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"It probably has to do with Adrian Newey,” it reads. “Newey is one of the top three earners in the team and the debate is over whether Newey is a Red Bull employee or a name on loan through his own company.

"Red Bull says 'he is employed by us' so he's not included in the budget cap because he's one of the three highest-paid names.

“The FIA said: 'No, he was hired through his company, so he comes from outside, so he should be included in the budget cap’.”

Newey is known to be one of the greatest minds in the F1 business, lending his skills in aerodynamics and design to some of the greatest cars of the sport such as this year's Red Bull RB18, the Williams FW16, and countless others. Currently, he's chief technical officer for Red Bull.

If it's true that Adrian Newey's hiring is the reason behind the Austrian team's cost cap breach, this overspending has directly affected the car, potentially meaning that a large punishment may follow. There's no news as to what this punishment may be, but I'd expect potentially a deduction of Constructor points. Less likely is a deduction of driver points from 2021 champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

We'll be sure to update you as we gather further information so stick around!