F1 teams have agreed to look into fees for protests and investigations after Mercedes and McLaren were left furious with Red Bull’s complaints. Both Zak Brown and Toto Wolff have been vocal in calling for an end to the current protest system, the latter angered after an attempt to strip George Russell of a race victory. Under the current sporting regulations, teams must stump up a refundable deposit of €2,000 (£1,700) for a protest or a right of review, with an appeal commanding a €6,000 (£5,100) sum, refunded if successful.
Both Brown and Wolff want that fee to be significantly increased. While Red Bull never lodged any formal complaints with the FIA over the legality of McLaren’s 2025 challenger, the Milton Keynes squad were responsible for speculation that Brown’s team were using illegal tricks to cool their tyres, such as injecting them with liquid.
Red Bull then went a step further with George Russell and Mercedes. After the Brit beat Verstappen to the top step of the podium at the Canadian Grand Prix, Christian Horner headed a protest focused on his behaviour behind the safety car. This was eventually thrown out by the FIA.
Responding to the decision to protest, Wolff told Sky Sports F1: “First of all, it took team Red Bull Racing two hours before they launched the protest, so that was in their doing.
“You know, honestly, it’s so petty and so small. They’ve done it in Miami. Now they launched two protests. They took one back because it was ridiculous. They come up with some weird clauses, what they call clauses.
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“I guess the FIA needs to look at that because it’s so far-fetched it was rejected. You know, you race, you win, and you lose on track. That was a fair victory for us, like so many they had in the past. And it’s just embarrassing.”
The Mercedes team principal later joined Brown in requesting higher protest fees to increase the barriers to entry when protesting. Following the latest F1 Commission meeting ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, teams are looking at changing the system.
“It was agreed that the deposit fees for protests, appeals and right of reviews should be evaluated with a view to those fees being adjusted,” a report released by the FIA explained. “The introduction of a fee for investigations was also discussed.”