Red Bull claims F1 cost cap is 'limiting significantly' in the development of their 2023 car

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has revealed that the penalty for the cost cap breach in 2021 significantly limits the development of this year's car.

Red Bull were one of the two teams that were found to be in breach of the cost cap for the 2021 F1 season. As a result, they were handed a 10% reduction in development time.

The team was already compromised because of reduced development time as it was the constructors' champion last season. They now face an uphill task against challengers like Ferrari and Mercedes.

Speaking to Racer.com, when questioned about what kind of impact th team was looking at because of the cost cap breach penalty, Horner said:

“We’re probably 25% almost of the way through that penalty, and of course it has an effect. It’s limiting significantly, the amount of runs that we can do in our wind tunnel over each quarter. And I think that the team are they’re having to adapt to that. And it just means you have to be a bit more focused, and more disciplined in what we put through the testing process within the tunnel or within our simulation tools."

The Red Bull boss added:

“So it’s another challenge. And it’s a handicap for sure, coming into this year, but we’ve got very capable people that are looking to obviously extract the best that we possibly can and apply ourselves in the most efficient and effective way.”

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Red Bull boss gives a nod of approval to the cost cap

The Red Bull boss gave his nod of approval to the cost cap introduced in F1. He explained how this had introduced a new level of efficiency in the way the team operates now. Horner said:

"I think the principle of it is great and it’s driven efficiency. If I look at the business now, compared to where it was four or five years ago, we’d have ended up with a lot of stock of spare parts that were brand new that had never been used, and then they’re just scrap."

He added:

"And so now you just can’t afford to have that. You’ve got to be so effective and efficient. So I think from that point of view, it has driven great efficiency into the business. It’s got rid of that wastage that was there that nobody saw previously."

Red Bull face an uphill task this season against teams like Ferrari and Mercedes. It will be interesting to see how they combat the challenge.