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Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner is unsure how Mercedes managed to make giant strides in the development of their car without breaching the new cost cap.
Mercedes struggled with several issues at the start of the 2022 Formula 1 season, with porpoising being the major problem. However, the team made significant improvements as the season progressed, including upgrading the floor, which allowed George Russell to win the Brazilian Grand Prix — the team's only victory of the year.
Speaking about Mercedes' rapid development, Horner told GP Fans:
"Under the budget cap, it has been surprising just the amount of development... But it has certainly been surprising the rate they have developed, particularly in the second half of the year."
That said, Horner is confident that the Silver Arrows will be a formidable competitor in 2023. He said:
"I would expect them to be very strong. They are not going to have the experience of this year. Look, they are a very capable team with very capable drivers and we are set for another really competitive season of Formula 1 in 2023."
Red Bull have been forced to settle for restrictions in their 2023 car development owing to the team's cost cap breach. They were found to have exceeded the budget for 2021, which resulted in a $7 million fine and a 10% reduction in allocated Wind Tunnel Testing and Computational Fluid Dynamics limits.
Mercedes accused of exploiting budget cap loopholes by Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer
Christian Horner isn't the only team principal in Formula 1 who has cast suspicions on Mercedes. Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer feels that teams like Mercedes are benefitting from loopholes in the cost cap regulations.
He said:
"When everyone’s the right size, you lose that. You lose that a little bit. What some of the other bigger teams are now doing is they’re looking to exploit or have a better understanding of where there are loopholes or some organisational changes you can make to actually stuff more people under that budget cap."
He added:
“They’re looking at, ‘Yeah, I got rid of a hundred people, but now I want to hire back because under the budget cap I was able to find spots for them where they either don’t count as a whole person or they do some marketing stuff or whatever it is, or they work on a boat for some of the time’."
