Horner SNAPS at F1 rivals after Red Bull cost cap accusations

Christian Horner has fired back at rivals’ suggestions that Red Bull’s 2021 cost cap penalty saw them let off lightly, believing that it has hindered their ability to develop their car this season.

The team received a $7 million fine, as well as a 10 per cent reduction in wind tunnel allocation for 2023, but have still managed to engineer one of the most dominant machines in F1 history.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali called for harsher sporting punishments for teams in violation of the rules earlier this week but accepted that the decision was the FIA’s to make.

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Horner: Easy to throw shade when you’re not performing

Speaking to Sky Sports F1’s Craig Slater before the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Red Bull team principal emphasised the impact of the penalty of the capabilities of his team this season.

He said: “Believe me, the hit that we’ve taken with a lack of wind tunnel time that we have compared 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 one of the things in Formula 1 that will always continue to happen, and I’m just incredibly proud of the job that our team is doing with the constraints and the handicap that we have to be performing at the level we have this year.”

It appears that the team show no sign of slowing progress on and off the track, as they introduce a raft of new upgrades to their RB19 this weekend, helping to make the grid’s most aerodynamically efficient car even better.

The FIA are yet to put a date on the announcement of the cost cap findings for the 2022 season, but the expectation is that they will be released before September.

Reports in the German and Italian media that at least two teams have broken the cap, which have been denied by the FIA, could make for some interesting decisions down the line as to how harshly to penalise those competitors this time around.

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