Horner believes it will be difficult for Red Bull to develop their 2023 F1 car, which will put the team at a disadvantage, especially compared to rivals Mercedes who have already revealed a very aggressive development plan. According to Christian Horner, with a cost cap to be strictly adhered to and a budget overrun penalty in place in 2021, Red Bull will find it very difficult to continue developing its 2023 car at a sustained pace.
Red Bull chief executive Christian Horner admits it will be harder for his team to maintain their lead over their rivals for long because of the “cultural change” in the sport, with the introduction of the cost cap, along with wind tunnel and CFD constraints. face each other this year.
Red Bull have made a strong start to the 2023 season after winning the first three races on the calendar, meaning the Milton Keynes outfit are currently comfortably at the top of the constructors’ standings with 123 points, 58 points ahead of their closest rivals. Aston Martin, followed by Mercedes and Ferrari in third and fourth, respectively.
Big restrictions on Red Bull
However, in addition to the cost cap limiting their spending, Red Bull also have the least amount of wind tunnel and CFD time this season as the defending champions. This has been further reduced by the penalties they have received from the FIA for not meeting the 2021 cost cap, further hampering their ability to develop the RB19 this campaign.
“I think it will be very difficult for us to develop this car, because when you look at the percentage of time we have less than some of our rivals, it is important. It’s significant,” Horner said.
“But it is so. We just have to do the best we can with what we have, be efficient, effective and selective in what we choose to develop and how we allocate our time.”
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A different mindset is required
The Briton acknowledges that the sport has undergone a profound cultural change with the introduction of the limited budget and that teams now have to think differently in terms of development, Red Bull’s penalty aside.
“It has been a total cultural change [because of the cost cap] during the last two years. It’s a new challenge in Formula 1, knowing how you apply your resources.”
“It used to be a sprint in terms of developing a car as fast as possible on the budget I could get.”
“Now it’s more about how and where you apply your resources, and of course there are so many variables like crash damage that can have a massive effect on your development potential. It will be interesting to see how this year plays out.”
Aggressive Mercedes development
Mercedes is aiming for more aggressive development than Red Bull, team boss Toto Wolff says.
Team Mercedes know they will have to be much more aggressive than Red Bull in terms of development throughout the year if they are to catch up with the Milton Keynes team.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is well aware that after the first three races his team has not made the desired start to the season, but the Austrian insists that Mercedes will have to “stay the course” for the next few races in as various updates are introduced to the system. W14.
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“enlivened by progress”
After the first three Grands Prix of the year, Mercedes sit third in the Constructors’ Championship, nine points behind Aston Martin, and when Toto Wolff was asked to give an initial assessment of the season’s start to his team, the Austrian said he was sooner. encouraged by progress.
“In terms of the development of the car, it’s encouraging to see that in three races we have a much better understanding of the car, we have a clear direction of where we need to go and I think we’re on the right track.” Wolff said.
“We need to consolidate our understanding and hopefully in the next few races we can take the next step.
“It’s also important to stay the course and not oscillate too much between exuberance and depression; stay rational and believe in our trajectory, believe in the team’s ability. There will be setbacks but there will also be updates and a lot of work that will help us get closer to the front.”
Superior development to Red Bull
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, when asked what the team’s short-term goals are and then what the long-term goals are, the Austrian replied: “We understand the knowledge we need to move forward.”
“We have to have a steeper development curve than Red Bull and fundamentally we want to compete for wins.”
“Now they are setting the benchmark. We trust the process and the people, and there will be setbacks. But if the trajectory is upward, that’s where we want to go.”
“We’ll be making regular improvements to the car over the next few races. But there’s no quick fix that will transform the car, and it’s about being realistic with your expectations. I hope we see steady improvement.”
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