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Based on the results from the season-opening Bahrain GP, Red Bull Racing have once again emerged as the team to beat in Formula 1. This came as a surprise to many as the team was on the backfoot during the winter owing to its budget cap breaches.
The FIA, global motorsport’s governing body, penalized Red Bull for exceeding F1’s team budget cap of £118.036 million during the 2021 season by £432,652. The team was fined $7 million and given a 10% reduction in Restricted Wind Tunnel Testing and Restricted Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) limits.
While it was expected to be a big handicap in Red Bull's design of RB19, the 2023 challenger, they seem to have done a good job in the off-season. Max Verstappen looked unstoppable in Bahrain, taking pole position and P1 at the Bahrain International Circuit. Sergio Perez finished second, giving the team the strongest possible start to the 2023 campaign.
Team principal Christian Horner believes that being hit with a penalty helped the team sharpen their approach and manage the wind tunnel time better. He told Autosport:
“I think it focuses everybody’s minds, and it drives efficiency. What we lost in wind tunnel time we gained in motivation. It is something you have to view over 12 months, because it is not just this year’s car, it is also next year’s car.”
He added:
“I think the really positive thing for us is that we are not dealing with a fundamental issue that soaks up that resource and time. It was vital for us to be able to cope with that penalty and to have a solid starting point. That is what the team has done a great job in achieving.”
Red Bull have already planned major upgrade: Reports
Red Bull Racing are planning to introduce a major upgrade to the RB19 in time for the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP, as per a report by the German outlet Auto Motor und Sport (AMuS).
The Milton Keynes outfit are expected to bring a small upgrade for the third race of the season in Melbourne and follow it up with a substantial package upgrade for the fourth race weekend in Baku, which will also be the first of six Sprint races of the season.
