McLaren hits Red Bull again: the British team considers that the new Max Verstappen’s PU could exceed Budget Cap’s expenses
McLaren vs Red Bull. Again. And once more, the budget cap issue takes centre stage. The saga tied to the spending ceiling for each team, overseen and enforced by the FIA and F1, seems truly to have no end.
In many occasions during 2025, Woking and Milton Keynes have shot back accusations, denying having committed any financial irregularities and thus having exceeded the cost cap imposed by the FIA.
However, even though the FIA had established the full “correctness” of all ten teams on the grid, the matter of the budget cap never truly disappears: beyond the two title-contenders McLaren and Red Bull, many recent accusations have also been directed at Aston Martin and Mercedes, accused of breaching the regulations. A whirlwind of allegations that may never truly end.
McLaren against Red Bull: the accusation
The new controversy over the budget cap certainly finds its origin in Saturday qualifying at Interlagos. At the Brazilian track, Red Bull did no better than sixteenth and nineteenth positions, with both cars eliminated in Q1.
It matters not to the FIA, if this was used (clearly deliberately) by Red Bull as the perfect “casus belli” to replace the Power Unit of Verstappen, who was already condemned to start from the back. In return, Red Bull would have obtained, even though Honda had often denied in the past (especially in 2021) that a new PU brought much more performance than a used one, a near-“new” car.
McLaren, then, made its voice heard, and according to paddock sources claims that this PU replacement, intentional and not strictly necessary, must count against the Red Bull accounts.
The regulation explicitly provides that the replacement of a Power Unit, even if due to safety reasons or verified failures, is still at the team’s expense and falls under the budget cap. In this context, Woking therefore contends that Red Bull’s choice, legitimate and at the team’s discretion, must weigh on the books of Milton Keynes and not those of Paris (FIA headquarter).
In short, an endless dispute, awaiting with anxiety and clamour the response of Helmut Marko and his team.
Photo: Oracle Red Bull Racing, McLaren
