F1: Ferrari And Red Bull Bosses Believe Rivals Should Pay For Crash Damage

The team bosses of Ferrari and Red Bull have come out and said that rivals who were responsible cause their cars to crash should be liable to pay for damages. Ferrari's Mattia Binotto was peeved at the fact that Charles Leclerc was taken out by the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll from a position of strength where he could've potentially gotten a podium. Similar comments have been flowing out of the Red Bull paddock every since Lewis Hamilton crashed into Max Verstappen at the British GP only for the notion to be doubled down on in the context of the horrific crash by the second Mercedes of Bottas at the Hungarian GP. 

"I think there is value for discussions in the near future with the other team principals, FIA and  F1. Obviously, if you're not guilty, having such damage in the budget cap is something which is even more of a consequence now," said Ferrari F1 boss Mattia Binotto to AutoSport. 

Ferrari boss also was unhappy about the fact no one followed pit lane rules 
Photo Credit: AFP

"Should we add exemptions? I'm not sure that's the solution. I think it may be very difficult to be policed. But I think that what we may consider is that if a driver is faulty, the team of the driver should pay at least to the other teams for the damages and repairs. That will make the drivers more responsible," he added. 

The budget cap has made things particularly hard for the big three teams as they have to pay for the repairs or replacement of parts out of the budget cap. In the case of Red Bull, engine damage could also cause grid place penalties for it if they have to replace the power unit more than 3 times in the season. 

"The cost of the damage, it looks like an engine on Sergio's car, and for Max...the mechanics worked wonders to get that car even running," the Red Bull team principal told Sky F1.

"Max has run with half a car - the entire right-hand side of the barge board was missing. That's brutal for us, but I think the team did well to get the car back out there. Max fought for that one point and that could prove vital at the end of the year," he added. 

While Mercedes has regained the title lead, its drivers are facing the heat and Wolff has had to defend them
Photo Credit: AFP

Mercedes for its part accepted the blame and Toto Wolff according to Nico Rosberg even went to apologise to Christian Horner, the Red Bull boss but his apology wasn't accepted. Bottas crashed into Lando Norris and Sergio Perez. Norris in turn crashed into Verstappen who drove the entire race without a barge board which crippled his car and he just managed P9 while Hamilton stormed to P3. 

Wolff found himself at the receiving end himself when Valtteri Bottas was taken out at Imola with Mercedes junior driver George Russell. At the time Wolff also complained about the potential cost of the damage and said that Russell should've thought before trying the move considering a Mercedes was in front of him.