Addressing a letter written last week by the McLaren team principal, Zak Brown, describing any breach of the cap as “cheating”, Horner said the accusations made against the team had even led to the children of employees being bullied. Horner was speaking publicly for the first time since the FIA announced Red Bull had been in breach of the budget cap for 2021. “My letter set out if a team spends more than the cap they are going to get an advantage,” he said. “The cap is a rule, no different than the technical rules in the sport. The cap for 2021 was set at £114m and it is believed Red Bull exceeded it by £1.8m.

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