Hamilton - Red Bull cost cap breach 'brings up emotion' of controversial Verstappen title

Lewis Hamilton says Red Bull being found to have breached Formula 1's cost cap has brought up "emotion" from agonizingly losing out in his 2021 world championship battle with Max Verstappen.

Mercedes driver Hamilton was denied an eighth world championship in controversial circumstances as an unprecedented call by race director Michael Masi afforded Verstappen the chance to take the lead on the final lap, before winning the race and title.

Hamilton considered walking away from the sport before returning for 2022 and "moving on" from the incident, but admits old wounds have been opened up with the Dutchman's team now having been found to have breached the sport's budget cap in its first season in operation.

"I don't necessarily have much of an opinion because I'm not really focused on it," Hamilton said on Thursday ahead of this weekend's United States Grand Prix.

Red Bull found guilty of breaching F1 cost cap

"It's happened in the past for me. I would say I'd moved on from last year, and of course this popping up at this point in the season definitely brings up emotion for many people, the fans, for everyone. For how it went down at the end of last year and then on top of that, this happened."

With Verstappen having gone on to claim the 2022 title, and Red Bull set to end Mercedes' eight-year constructors' championship streak, rival teams are calling for significant punishment, arguing the 2021 breach has impacted this season, and will also be a factor in 2023 if severe action isn't taken.

The FIA is understood to have offered terms of an 'accepted breach agreement' to Red Bull ahead of this weekend's US GP, with the team now left to decide on whether to accept the offer and likely a lesser punishment, or go before an adjudication panel. The details of the FIA's offer to Red Bull, however, are still unclear.

Red Bull were last week the only team found guilty of exceeding the 2021 $145m spending limit - with a 'minor' breach meaning they had overspent by less than five per cent ($7.25m) - although have emphatically rejected claims from rival teams that they have purposely cheated.

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"I'm not the one to be able to decide what that (punishment) is," Hamilton said.

"The fact is that breach affected the result of last year, but it also affects this year, because they would have taken on the same practice, most often perhaps into this season, there would have benefits from that moving on into this season and it rolls on.

"When these new rules come out, if you've got a head start it's very, very hard to close that gap. It just goes back to integrity, we've got to stick to the core values of what this sport is.

"We got a 25k fine for me having this nose ring in and a 50k fine for having that wing and put to dead last in the race, so I'm hopeful, I truly believe that I have to have belief in the FIA and the people that are leading this team, that they're going to make the right decisions. What those are, everyone has an opinion on what should or should not happen, but I'm not giving it energy, I'm trying to win a race right now."

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During a separate press conference, Hamilton warned that the future of F1's budget cap rests on the FIA's decision.

"I do think this sport needs to do something about this, otherwise if they're relaxed with these rules, then all the teams will just go over," Hamilton added.

"Spending millions more and then only having a slap on the wrist isn't going to be great for the sport. They might as well not have a cost cap in the future."

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