Red Bull has used 'no more than 18 percent' of their development budget - Reports

Rumors of Red Bull using up close to 75% of its budget have been quashed, as per a report by RacingNews365. As stated, the Austrian squad has spent no more than 18 percent of its development budget. The report also talked about the Milton Keynes-based team bringing a reasonable upgrade to Barcelona, with a major one being planned for the race at Silverstone.

The report stated:

“According to our sources, in percentage terms, Red Bull have so far used no more than 18 per cent of their budget set for developments. In fact, it seems that the package planned for Barcelona will not be Red Bull’s biggest of the season. It is believed that they are already working towards major aero changes at Silverstone in early July.”

It went on to elaborate on the reasoning behind this, mentioning:

“In Miami, rumors went around the paddock - which our sources proved to be unfounded - about Red Bull already using up 75 percent of their development budget for the season. That would have meant around 27 million euros being spent from an estimated budget of just under 36 million. However, since the beginning of the season, and more specifically the first test in Barcelona, Red Bull’s aero developments have focused exclusively on bodywork and the evolution of front and rear wings, depending on the specific load requirements of the various circuits.”

The report also mentioned other sources of expenditure for the team, stating:

“Aside from this, the only other development was the aforementioned floor redesign, aimed at shedding weight. Some other CNC-machined elements were made lighter, but the economic impact of this would only be in the tens of thousands of euros.”

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Red Bull focusing on aerodynamic gains and weight loss for its car

According to the aforementioned report, the team is still looking at ways to reduce the weight of the car. The car has been overweight since the start of the season but the Milton Keynes-headquartered team has been making strides to reduce the weight with the chunk of upgrades that it has brought so far. For the Spanish GP, the aim is to reduce the weight of the car by a further 7 kgs to bring it closer to the 798kg minimum weight limit.

Meanwhile, the team has won the last two races at Imola and Miami, with Max Verstappen scoring maximum points in both the races. The team will be looking to continue its streak at a track that could inherently favor Ferrari.