03 January 2023 , 08:00
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If any Formula 1 team can cope with such a deficit in wind tunnel time compared to their rivals, it's Red Bull.
That was the defiant claim made by Christian Horner as his team's aerodynamic testing punishment begins. For their "minor" breach of the budget cap regulations in the 2021 season, Red Bull were slapped with a fine of £6m by the FIA.
But the real punishment, the one which will make a difference, is the sporting penalty. A reduction in wind tunnel testing time of 10% over the next 12 months will have a significant impact on their car development – particularly considering they already have less than anyone else on the grid this year.
That is because of the price paid each season by the team which won the previous year's championship. Aero testing time is handed out depending on each constructors' finishing position, meaning Red Bull already have less than everyone else to play with.
So with the budget cap penalty increasing the size of that deficit, team principal Horner knows Red Bull "can't be greedy" and will have to ration their allotted time well. "Of course, it will have an effect. It is constricting your development tools," he told GPFans.
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"It just means we will have to think smarter and be more selective in what we test and run but we just need to adapt. What we have lost in wind tunnel time, we have gained in motivation and I think that we have just got to get on with it, get our heads down and do the very best job that we can."
Red Bull's 2022 car was excellent – but will the development of their 2023 challenger be affected by their cost cap penalty? (Getty Images)Specifically, the punishment means Red Bull will have 38 wind tunnel runs and 130 computational fluid dynamics items fewer than Ferrari, who finished as runners-up in 2022. "You have to adjust and accommodate [for] that," Horner added.
"You can't be greedy. Every single run counts and it has even more of a factor when you think we have potentially 20 per cent less than Mercedes, for example, in wind tunnel time. That is a significant amount but if any team can cope with it, we can."
Much of the work on Red Bull's 2023 car will be complete, but the penalty will impact their upgrades throughout the season as well as their 2024 effort. So, it is imperative they get off to a strong start to the coming season, as they could be swallowed up by their rivals later in the year.