UNITED KINGDOM: Alfa Romeo’s team principal, Fred Vasseur, recently made fun of Christian Horner over the cost cap saga, saying that he can now spend “five times nothing.”
With their sixth-place finish in the constructors’ championship, the Alfa Romeo team made an additional $10 million in the 2022 Formula 1 season.
Fred Vasseur was one of the more vocal team principals as reports of Red Bull breaching the 2021 cost cap regulations arose in the second half of the 2022 Formula 1 season.
The FIA later confirmed the allegations after it found Red Bull guilty of exceeding the cost cap by $2.2 million, despite team boss Christian Horner’s insistence that the overspending had “zero benefits” in terms of the performance of the RB16B.
Fred Vasseur is eager to see what he can accomplish using the money received from the FIA after their decent showing in 2022.
Taking a dig at Christian Horner, Vasseur said that one of his co-workers felt that two million was nothing. He added that the team now has “five times nothing.”
With everything on the line, Alfa Romeo led Aston Martin by five points heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi. It was clear from the practise sessions and qualifying that the Aston Martin had the better pace.
Alfa Romeo couldn’t outscore Aston Martin in the race despite using a “very defensive” strategy, according to driver Valtteri Bottas.
The two teams finished the season tied on points. However, Bottas’ P5 finish at the Emilia Romagna GP put Alfa Romeo ahead of the two.
As things stand, the Frenchman who, according to expectations, will join Ferrari in January may not be in charge of that “five times nothing.”
On Tuesday, Ferrari announced Mattia Binotto’s departure, ending months of speculation over his future in light of Ferrari’s championship failure.
According to reports, Christian Horner and Andreas Seidl had already rejected Ferrari when they spoke a year ago. Franz Tost and Gerhard Berger have also turned down the Italian team’s offer.
Vasseur is currently Ferrari’s main pick to supplant Binotto, with the group supposedly currently in conversation with him to arrange his Alfa Romeo exit. However, Alfa Romeo must be willing to release the 54-year-old from his contract.
The Hinwil-based team has advanced from the bottom row of the standings grid to P6 thanks to Vasseur’s solid leadership.
Also Read: Red Bull Agrees to Cost Cap Infringement Penalty with FIA
