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LONDON, England - Red Bull has stressed its commitment to preventing a financial "arms race" in Formula 1 despite, as the reigning Constructors' champion, quitting the teams' association in a dispute over cost reductions.
The Formula One Teams' Association (Fota) was created in 2008 to help unify the series but Ferrari and Sauber have quit it over the failure to agree on a strategy to curb expenditure.
'WE'RE HAPPY'
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said,: "Fota did a lot of good things when it was created, saving costs and so on, but in recent months it's been less effective and more fractured in the way we should move forward and for what it should be responsible.
"For the time being, we're happy to be in control of our own destiny."
The resource restriction agreement (RRA) that was meant to return expenditure to levels that prevailed in F1 in the early 1990s.
Overspending was a sticking point between the FIA and the teams when racing's governing body tried to introduce measures that would have effectively created a spending cap and in 2009 nearly led to a breakaway series being formed.
Chief technical officer Adrian Newey said: "We agree with budget controls, we don't want to get into an arms race like that which happened with the manufacturers a few years ago, and at Red Bull we wouldn't be able to. If we can concentrate on the things that are tangible, such as wind tunnel and testing restrictions, then that will be fine.
"With some of the teams that are subsidiaries of automative companies it becomes difficult to know how their resources are split. It's when you don't have this transparency that all the sniping starts," he said.
MONDAY MEETING
In 2010 Fota represented 11 of the 12 teams on the F1 grid; Hispania Racing was the only one not in the organisation. Red Bull, having to serve a two-month notice period with Fota, could still return to the umbrella organisation before the 2012 season starts in March.
Horner said: "We have a meeting with some of the other Fota members on Monday (Dec 12, 2011) to talk about cost control. Nothing's ever set in stone but for the time being we feel it's right to step out of Fota."
Horner and Newey were speaking as thousands of F1 fans turned out in freezing conditions to see Vettel and team mate Mark Webber drive their F1 cars through the streets of Milton Keynes, central England, where the team is based.
The Formula One Teams' Association (Fota) was created in 2008 to help unify the series but Ferrari and Sauber have quit it over the failure to agree on a strategy to curb expenditure.
'WE'RE HAPPY'
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said,: "Fota did a lot of good things when it was created, saving costs and so on, but in recent months it's been less effective and more fractured in the way we should move forward and for what it should be responsible.
"For the time being, we're happy to be in control of our own destiny."
The resource restriction agreement (RRA) that was meant to return expenditure to levels that prevailed in F1 in the early 1990s.
Overspending was a sticking point between the FIA and the teams when racing's governing body tried to introduce measures that would have effectively created a spending cap and in 2009 nearly led to a breakaway series being formed.
Chief technical officer Adrian Newey said: "We agree with budget controls, we don't want to get into an arms race like that which happened with the manufacturers a few years ago, and at Red Bull we wouldn't be able to. If we can concentrate on the things that are tangible, such as wind tunnel and testing restrictions, then that will be fine.
"With some of the teams that are subsidiaries of automative companies it becomes difficult to know how their resources are split. It's when you don't have this transparency that all the sniping starts," he said.
MONDAY MEETING
In 2010 Fota represented 11 of the 12 teams on the F1 grid; Hispania Racing was the only one not in the organisation. Red Bull, having to serve a two-month notice period with Fota, could still return to the umbrella organisation before the 2012 season starts in March.
Horner said: "We have a meeting with some of the other Fota members on Monday (Dec 12, 2011) to talk about cost control. Nothing's ever set in stone but for the time being we feel it's right to step out of Fota."
Horner and Newey were speaking as thousands of F1 fans turned out in freezing conditions to see Vettel and team mate Mark Webber drive their F1 cars through the streets of Milton Keynes, central England, where the team is based.