Marko confirms talks with FIA and predicts mild punishment

Helmut Marko does not expect Max Verstappen to lose his 2021 title. Speaking to F1-Insider, the Red Bull advisor said he is anticipating a mild penalty.

On Monday, the FIA announced that Red Bull had exceeded the 2021 budget cap. The team immediately announced its disagreement with that verdict, saying all the figures were within the set limits. How things will proceed is still unknown, but speculation has quickly moved to the question of what punishment Red Bull might receive.

Several people have already suggested that Verstappen could lose his title, but Red Bull advisor Marko dismissed that out of hand. Speaking to F1-Insider, the Austrian said he thinks that is far too exaggerated.

"Rumours that Max could lose his 2021 world title, for example, are complete nonsense. The past has shown that even extreme violations of the regulations were punished very mildly by the FIA."

Marko's statement seems to refer to 2019, among others, when after rumours surrounding the legality of the Ferrari car, a deal was struck between the FIA and Ferrari behind closed doors without too serious consequences. Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto indicated earlier this week that he does not expect Verstappen to lose his title either.

Red Bull still believes in innocence

Marko also stressed to F1-Insider that he is still convinced that Red Bull did everything by the book. "I don't want to say too much about it, but I will say this: we still believe we abided by the budget cap. Talks with the FIA are still ongoing, so let's wait and see what comes out of that."