Red Bull reported to launch lighter 2023 F1 car in contrast to Christian Horner's claims

Red Bull will reportedly run a lighter chassis in 2023 despite team principal Christian Horner claiming the team is not working on changes. The 2022 constructors' champions have been slapped on the wrist with hefty reprimands for the upcoming season for allegedly breaking the 2021 cost cap.

Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the team's 2023 F1 car could be up to 3 kgs lighter than the 2022 title-winning RB18.

While there is no official confirmation from Milton Keynes just yet, it will be interesting to see whether Max Verstappen and his squad can capitalize on the lighter chassis and dominate like they did last year.

Red Bull were to introduce the lighter chassis in the last six races of 2022 but decided against it as Max Verstappen was well on his way to securing his second title in the sport.

The Dutchman dominated the rest of the grid last year, wrapping up the title in Japan with four races to go. Christian Horner said of the rumors of a lighter chassis last year are unfounded. He told Sky Sports F1:

“Well, I don’t know where these rumors permeate from. But no, there’s no plans to introduce a lighter chassis. So you know, we keep going. We’re in good shape.”

Meanwhile, Ferrari have reportedly developed a lighter chassis for their 2023 car as well, potentially eliminating the tire degradation issues they faced last year.

Red Bull unsure about how cost cap penalties will affect them in 2023

Red Bull's chief technical officer Adrian Newey is unsure how the cost cap penalties will affect the Austrian team in 2023. They seemed to be the clear favorites heading into this year's season.

However, they were slapped with a penalty for allegedly breaking the 2021 cost cap and will now face an additional 10% reduction in wind tunnel time along with the reduced testing time for winning the constructors' title.

Adrian Newey is unsure how the penalties will impact his team's 2023 campaign but is still keeping his hopes high for the upcoming season. Newey told PlanetF1 at the 2022 Autosport awards:

“It doesn’t help, of course. It’s very difficult to know exactly how much of an effect it has. We’ve already had a bit of a penalty by winning the Constructors’ and then we’ve had this additional penalty from the cost-cut shenanigans. So how it will affect us, it’s difficult to know but we’ve just got to do the best job we can.”

Red Bull's disadvantage this year will put Mercedes and Ferrari at the forefront, perhaps giving the two teams the opportunity to return to the top of the sport once again.