Christian Horner is concerned that it will be a difficult task for Red Bull to maintain their lead over their competitors for the entirety of 2023. The team has had an impressive start to the season, winning all three races so far with a significant advantage over their nearest rivals.
Despite their success and dominance in the 2022 Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull is facing some challenges this year. They have less wind tunnel and CFD time available, and they have also received penalties for breaking the 2021 budget cap. This has resulted in a 10 percent reduction in aerodynamic and CFD allowances, along with a $7 million fine.
Horner believes that the reduced development time compared to their rivals could pose a significant challenge for the team.
“I think it will be very tough for us to develop this car, because when you look at the amount of percentage time less we have compared to some of our rivals, it’s significant,” Horner is quoted by F1.
“But it is what it is. We just have to do the best we can with what we’ve got, be efficient, effective, and selective in what we choose to develop, and how we apportion our time.”
The team boss feels that various “cultural changes” within the sport have also added to the task facing Red Bull and other teams.
“It’s been a total cultural change over the last couple of years.” “It’s a new challenge in Formula 1, how you apply your resources,” he explained.
“It used to be a sprint in terms of developing a car as quickly as you could with whatever budget you can rustle up.
“Now it’s a question of how and where do you apply your resources, and of course there are so many variables like crash damage, accident damage in there that can have a massive effect on your potential to develop.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how it pans out this year.”
