Christian Horner: "I'm sure if you burnt our wind tunnel down it wouldn’t be enough" for Red Bull's rivals

Red Bull CEO Christian Horner believes that even burning down their wind tunnel might not be enough of a penalty for their rivals following the F1 cost cap breach. The Briton believes the reduction in their wind tunnel time over a minor breach of the cost cap is harsh and will cost them in 2023.

Addressing the on-site press after the announcement of the FIA decision over the penalty, Horner said:

“It’s a handicap. We are going to have to work incredibly hard. It gives an advantage to our competitors, which is why they were pushing so hard for a draconian penalty. There were other sporting penalties available to the FIA. This one was lobbied hard for by our competitors because they felt it would hit us the hardest. Some of them have been quick to talk in the media. I’m sure for them it [the penalty] won’t be enough. I’m sure if you burnt our wind tunnel down it wouldn’t be enough.”

Red Bull was found guilty of breaching the cost cap limit by 1.6 percent, which incurs a minor sporting penalty, along with a penalty for a procedural breach. The Milton Keynes squad has been slapped with a $7.5 million fine and a 10 percent reduction in their wind tunnel time for next year.

Although the team was adamant that their breach did not benefit them on track, the accounting errors have cost them heavily. Horner feels his rivals were quick to jump to conclusions and lobby for a harsher penalty in the public domain, but even the harshest penalty might not suffice in satisfying Red Bull's rivals. The Briton feels the harshest penalty has been imposed on them despite other options for sporting penalties being present that the FIA could have utilized.

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Red Bull advisor feels the team can’t afford mistakes in their wind-tunnel design with the penalty

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes that the wind-tunnel penalty could hurt them significantly for the 2023 season, allowing them no room for error in terms of design and car development. Despite having the oldest wind tunnel built by F1 teams, the Austrian feels that it is not the most state-of-the-art equipment, which means the reduction of time will make it difficult for their CFD testing before next season.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the 2022 F1 Mexican GP, the Red Bull advisor said:

“The penalty is tough, but it’s just about the limit where we believe we can be competitive in the years to come despite the restrictions in the hours dedicated to wind tunnel. It’s an enormous competitive disadvantage. Our wind tunnel is one of the first to be built. In terms of the turnaround time and the sensitivity to heat, we need even longer before we can find the right one temperature as it’s not state of the art. We can’t miss a shot. What we take into the wind tunnel has to work. We can’t afford to make any mistakes.”

Following their current penalty, Red Bull will have the least wind-tunnel time compared to their rivals Mercedes and Ferrari. The team to finish the season at the bottom of the championship gets the most wind tunnel time whereas the team to finish at the top of the constructors' gets the least time for wind tunnel testing. After winning the constructors' championship, the Austrian outfit will be entitled to 70 percent of the wind tunnel time, and a further 10 percent reduction will bring it down to 60 percent.