Red Bull boss Christian Horner expresses 'sympathy' for former Ferrari counterpart Mattia Binotto: "He'd done a good job"

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has expressed his 'sympathy' for his former Ferrari counterpart Mattia Binotto, who left the team at the end of the 2022 season. The Scuderia are now led by former Sauber and Alfa Romeo man Fred Vasseur.

Ferrari parted ways with Binotto after the Italian was unable to lead the Maranello-based team to success despite having entered the 2022 season with a competent car. They succumbed to a string of reliability and strategic issues throughout the season, giving Horner's team the win in both the drivers' and constructors' championships.

Binotto, however, managed to take the Prancing Horse from a midfield team to potentially fighting for the title in 2022, a feat that has earned Horner's sympathy.

Speaking to Motor Sport Magazine, the Red Bull boss said of his former rival:

"I've sympathy for Mattia, because ultimately he'd done a good job. Last year, that was a big step forward from where they had been, so that must be tough for him after such long service that he had given to Ferrari. Fred, it'll be interesting to see if he's still arguing about the same points that he was for Sauber in upcoming meetings! But again, he's a very capable guy."

---

Red Bull unsure about how cost cap penalties will affect them in 2023

Red Bull Racing's chief technical officer Adrian Newey is unsure how the cost cap penalties will affect the Austrian team in 2023. While they are the clear favorites heading into the new season, their preparations have been hindered by a 10% reduction in wind tunnel time (a penalty for breaking the 2021 cost cap) along with the reduced testing time for winning the 2022 constructors' title.

While Newey is unsure how it will impact his team's 2023 campaign, he is keeping his hopes high. He told PlanetF1 at the 2022 Autosport awards:

“It doesn’t help, of course. It’s very difficult to know exactly how much of an effect it has. We’ve already had a bit of a penalty by winning the Constructors’ and then we’ve had this additional penalty from the cost-cut shenanigans. So how it will affect us, it’s difficult to know but we’ve just got to do the best job we can.”

Red Bull's disadvantages this year could put Mercedes and Ferrari at the forefront, giving the two teams the opportunity to return to the top of the sport once again.