Red Bull was given a $7 million fine and a 10% reduction in wind tunnel time as a penalty for exceeding the cost cap in 2021.
Over the last few weeks, Red Bull exceeding the budget cap has been the biggest talking point in F1. Most fans and team bosses wanted the Milton-Keynes-based outfit to be severely punished and some even suggested a points deduction.
In the end, the FIA announced that they would have to pay a fine of $7 million. However, the bigger punishment has to be their forced reduction in development time. They will have to spend 10% lesser time in the wind tunnel compared to other F1 teams next season.
Plenty of people within the F1 community feel that the punishment is too lenient. Former F1 driver and Sky Sports pundit Karun Chandhok on the other hand feels that people are underestimating just how important the wind tunnel is.
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Why is wind tunnel important for F1 teams?
Today, aerodynamics is one of the most important factors in determining whether a car is fast or not. An F1 wind tunnel helps the teams master that aspect by balancing aero with power.
Aerodynamics is a crucial area to work on because it gives the cars higher downforce which provides drivers with greater grip in the corners. At the same time, they also allow lesser drag (on a low downforce set up) when the drivers are going flat out.
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Ferrari and Mercedes may leap ahead of Red Bull in 2023
Chandhok has been working with Sky Sports as an analyst since 2021, and he explained why getting lesser time in the tunnel will affect Red Bull. He feels that the vast majority of he F1 community is not understanding how important being on the wind tunnel is.
Teams want their cars on the wind tunnel for as long as possible to make sure that the aerodynamics of their cars are as good as possible. If Red Bull get 10% less time, it means that Ferrari and Mercedes will get more. This would allow them to jump ahead of their rival in terms of performance next year.
“Losing 10% of wind tunnel time will mean that if everyone finishes in the same order as they are in now, they will have 12% less than Ferrari 17% less than Mercedes for next year,” the 38-year-old said. “That will have a big impact!”
Red Bull’s penalties may affect their plans of developing the 2023 car. As of this season, however, they have already secured the Constructors’ Championship with three races to spare.
