'Cost cap shenanigans' have left Red Bull unsure of penalty impacts in 2023 F1 season

Red Bull's chief technical officer Adrian Newey is unsure how cost cap penalties will affect the Austrian team in 2023. The 2022 constructors' champions will receive a 10% reduction in wind tunnel testing time and will also have to pay a $7 million fine for allegedly breaking the 2021 cost cap.

The Bulls dominated the 2022 season, winning both titles by quite a margin. Although Ferrari looked to be the early favorite, their form soon dropped off due to a string of reliability and strategic issues.

While Red Bull seemed to be the clear favorites heading into the 2023 season, they were slapped on the wrist with a reprimand for allegedly breaking the 2021 cost cap and will now face an additional 10% reduction in wind tunnel time over and above the reduced testing time for winning the constructors' title. Championship-winning designer Adrian Newey is unsure how the added penalties will impact his team's 2023 campaign but is still keeping his hopes high for the new year.

Adrian Newey 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.”

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Red Bull expects Mercedes to be stronger than Ferrari in 2023

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes Mercedes will be a stronger opponent than Ferrari next season. In an interview with the German publication Bild, Marko was asked about his projections for next year - which rival would be the biggest challenge for the Austrian team. He promptly claimed that Mercedes would be a more significant challenge, given that the team could be seen rectifying issues throughout their failing season.

The Austrian and German teams were locked in an intense title battle in 2021, but the Silver Arrows failed to understand the 2022 regulations and hence were unable to challenge the Bulls in 2022. Mercedes drivers pushed the cars to rank higher throughout their lackluster season. This resulted in podium and pole finishes.

According to Helmut Marko:

"Ferrari is strong, but Mercedes will be stronger as a whole. Especially with a driver like Lewis Hamilton. He's still a top pilot. Although Ferrari also has a very good driver in Leclerc, he still makes mistakes."

Red Bull's battle with Mercedes and Ferrari will be exciting to watch next season. It remains to be seen if there will be any adverse effects of the team losing 10% of its development time for next season.