F1 News: Red Bull Chief Retaliates After Cost Cap Complaints

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has hit back at claims from other teams that the cost cap penalties were too small.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has hit back at claims that the penalties they received for their 2021 cost cap breach were too small. 

As rumours have begun to swirl about potential cost cap breaches for 2022, teams and drivers have been commenting on the penalties given to Red Bull for the minor cost cap breach for the 2021 season. The team received a $7 million fine as well as a 10% reduction in wind tunnel time. However, some in the grid believe that this is not enough to deter other teams from exceeding the budget.

Horner was quizzed on the claims by Sky Sports F1 reporter Craig Slater ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. When asked if Red Bull should be comfortably within the budget for 2022, the team chief responded:

"We would expect to be. 

"We had a very good car last year, we did relatively little development compared to some of our competitors. Most importantly, we had very little crash damage as well. I think Max [Verstappen] damaged one front wing in Brazil and Checo [Sergio Perez] had one incident from memory in Montreal. 

"So, we weren't burning parts like some of our competitors were and the upgrades we were bringing were far more modest. 

"Let's see, we are working through the process with the FIA and there is always inevitably going to be speculation but you've got to put the faith in the FIA and their process which we are currently engaged in."

"It's easy to throw shade when you're not performing..." 👀

Christian Horner responds to claims that Red Bull's punishment for their cost cap breach wasn't 'severe' enough. pic.twitter.com/NmYrgf47XE

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 21, 2023

Horner was then asked about the recent claims from others in the grid that their penalty was too small for the 2021 breach, to which is retaliated:

"Believe me, the hit we have taken with the lack of wind tunnel time we have in comparison to our competitors is a massive compromise. 

"If wind tunnels don't count then why don't we just get rid of them?

"It's always easy to throw shade when you're not performing. It's on of the things in Formula One that will always continue to happen."