Christian Horner says he has been "absolutely appalled" by the reaction from rival teams to the FIA's announcement that Red Bull had breached budget cap regulations.
The Formula One Constructors’ Championship leaders were found to have been in breach of the cost cap for a 2021 season in which Max Verstappen was crowned world champion for a first time.
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A fierce response has been issued across the paddock, including from Red Bull team principal Horner's McLaren counterpart Zak Brown, who wrote a letter to the FIA outlining his belief that such a breach constitutes cheating.
Horner hit back at those comments and "fictitious allegations" from rivals on the grid.
"It's tremendously disappointing for a fellow competitor to be accusing you of cheating, to accuse you of fraudulent activity, it is absolutely shocking," he said in a press conference on Saturday.
"Without the facts, without any knowledge of the detail, making that kind of accusation. We've been on trial because of public accusation since Singapore, the rhetoric of cheats, that we've had this enormous benefit.
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"Numbers have been put out in the media that are miles out of reality. The damage that it does to the brand, to our partners, to our drivers, to our workforce, in an age where mental health is prevalent, we're seeing significant issues now within our workforce.
"We're seeing kids being bullied in playgrounds, the children of our employees, that is not right, through fictitious allegations from other teams. You cannot go around accusing that kind of allegation without any facts or substance.
"We are absolutely appalled by the behaviour of some of our competitors."
Brown was also present at the press conference and offered an immediate response, clarifying that the letter was not accusatory to anyone in particular and merely expressed their views on what the punishment for breaches should be.
"My letter set out that I think that if a team spends more than the cap, they are going to get an advantage. The cap is a rule no different to the technical rules in the sport," he explained.
"We're not taking a view on whether there was or wasn't [a breach], my letter was on the basis that, if someone has, these are the things we think should be addressed, no different to if a ride height is incorrect or a flexi-wing.
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"I didn't mention any teams, it was a general response now that we are into a cost cap era. If someone breaches that, this is what we think the ramifications should be.
"I have no idea what the amounts are, I have no detail, but if we had more money to spend, that would put us in a better light with performance, more people, more upgrades, whatever the case may be, so we feel that it is a performance benefit if someone has spent more than the cost cap."
Red Bull chief Horner was also asked if the team had benefitted from an overspend in the cost cap but denied that was the case.
"Absolutely not. What you have to look at are what are the relevant costs, what is within the cap and what is outside? That's where the interpretation comes from," he added.
"Our view is our relevant costs are within the cap. We had zero benefit from a development perspective or an operational perspective, either for 2021 or 2022, in the way we operated.
"We expected certain things to be potentially challenged or clarified, as is the process in way things are done. The interpretation of a 52-page document were clear from our side. We absolutely and categorically don't feel we have had any advantage. It's total fictitious."
