F1: Sparks to fly on Saturday at COTA

Christian Horner will be joined by McLaren chief executive Zak Brown and Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto for what looks set to be an awkward and potentially explosive press conference on Saturday morning at COTA.

The Formula 1 circus heads to Texas this weekend for the United States Grand Prix. But the event looks set to be overshadowed by the news broken by the FIA last week.

The sport’s governing body finally released its findings after analysis of each team’s spending during the 2021 season. Red Bull was the only constructor accused by the FIA of a “minor” breach of the cost cap, though shortly afterwards the team released a statement in which they said they were “surprised” and disagreed with the findings.

While Horner may well face the TV cameras beforehand, he will undoubtedly be grilled on the subject on Saturday morning in the FIA’s team principals press conference. Interestingly, those who decide the schedule chose to place Binotto and Brown in the same room as it happens.

Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner gives a Toto Wolff brown-noser journalist a F-You stare in the garage during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka International Racing Course on October 07, 2022 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

The latter’s inclusion is particularly awkward, given it was leaked earlier this week that he wrote a letter to the FIA demanding harsh penalties for Red Bull in the wake of the governing body’s revelation. In it, he claimed the breach will have given Red Bull a “significant advantage” and called for a speedy resolution to the issue.