Adjusting F1's budget caps due to inflation and opposing changes against porpoising are 'two different things,' claims Red Bull's Christian Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has hit back at those criticizing him for seeking an amendment to F1's cost cap while being against changes to help teams tackle the issue of porpoising.

Horner has repeatedly highlighted the rising cost of logistics in light of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine and how the subsequent inflation has impacted all F1 teams. The sport's budget cap of $140 million was introduced to level the playing field, but teams are already tightening their purse strings.

Horner feels it is not hypocritical on his part to oppose the FIA's mid-season technical directives aimed at combating porpoising and potential health concerns that it carries. For the Red Bull boss, inflation was unforeseen, whereas all teams knew that porpoising would be an issue ever since the 2022 regulations were finalized.

Speaking in an interview with GPFans ahead of the 2022 F1 British GP, the 48-year-old said:

“I think if you inflicted something like that then there is a significant cost attached to it and that comes nowhere else other than the development costs for argument’s sake. What we’re talking about with the cost cap is inflation. In the UK, they’re talking about 11 per cent inflation in the second half of the year. That is due to what is going on in the world. It was not predicted, it is a genuine force majeure situation. Again, it is something that it is down to the FIA to take the appropriate action otherwise you’re going to have probably seven teams that break the cap in some shape or form by the end of the year.”

When asked if porpoising could also be bundled into the same, Horner vehemently disagreed, saying:

“Not really. It’s two different things. The porpoising is within the control of the team. It’s not about putting a front wing on. It’s about the cost of energy, the cost of inflation, the cost of living, the cost of putting fuel in your car. It’s going up for everybody. It’s the supply of parts, it’s the cost of freight, the cost of electrics, of utilities. So there are things you can’t control and that is why I think the majority of teams do feel there’s an issue that needs to be addressed there.”

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"We don't want a championship decided in law courts" - Red Bull boss wary of legal impact the breach of the F1 cost cap could have

Earlier, Red Bull boss Christian Horner had fired warning shots suggesting that the ongoing F1 season may end up being decided in the courts instead of the asphalt, owing to the rising costs of inflation.

Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports after the 2022 F1 Canadian GP, the 48-year-old Red Bull team principal said:

“The way you design your car is within your control. That is something that you, together with your group of designers, you create. You’re in control of your own destiny. What we’re seeing in the world at the moment, we’re not in control of the inflationary costs that are affecting households around the world. In the UK, we’re seeing predicted inflation at 11 per cent. That’s a direct effect on staff, on raw materials, on electricity, on commodities, on supplied parts. I think it genuinely is a force majeure situation that the FIA need to deal with.”

The 48-year-old went on to add, saying:

“There’s probably about 50 per cent of the teams who are going to breach the cap at the end of the year if it continues the way things are. Probably even more. We don’t want a championship decided in law courts, or in Paris in front of the FIA. We’ve got six months of the year to address this, we need to act now.”

Horner had also previously predicted that as many as seven F1 teams could be forced to miss at least four races to stay in line with the budget cap of $140 million.