“Red Bull are so far ahead”: 2022 World Champions won’t suffer due to wind-tunnel time reduction until at least 2024

Red Bull had a very dominant 2022 season on track. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was on Max Verstappen’s tail in the first half, but since then it’s been a walk in the park for the Austrian outfit. Verstappen ended up winning the Title with four races to spare. On top of that, Red Bull won their first Constructors’ Championship since the 2013 season.

Off the track, however, it was a controversial campaign for Red Bull. They were found guilty of breaching the cost cap last month, which enraged teams and fans. The majority of the F1 community wanted the team from Milton-Keynes to be heavily penalized with a possible 2021 Championship points deduction also brought up.

In the end, the FIA decided to fine Red Bull $7 million and also reduce 10% of their available time on the wind tunnel. This was a penalty that most people underestimated. Red Bull getting lesser time on the wind tunnel means that their rivals Ferrari and Mercedes have a huge opportunity to leap them in the aerodynamics department.

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Red Bull have already planned for 2023 season

Most teams start keeping one eye out for the upcoming season as soon as the second half of their current campaign begins. Considering Red Bull’s dominance in the second half this year, it’s clear that they were not stressed about the RB18 anymore. This gave them to opportunity to work on next year’s car even before the penalty was handed out.

Former F1 driver Hans-Joachim Stuck believes that Red Bull won’t struggle at all in 2023 because of the wind tunnel time reduction. They may show signs of weakness in 2024, but for now they are safe.

“I am convinced Red Bull Racing are already so far ahead in planning that it will only have an impact the year after next,” Stuck said to Servus TV. “They are definitely in a good position there.”

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Christian Horner feels FIA’s penalty will cost them half a second

Red Bull were visibly unhappy with the penalty handed out. Team principal Christian Horner bashed the fans who suggested that it was a very lenient penalty. The 48-year-old insisted that it would cost them about .25 or .5 seconds a lap.

“It will have an impact on our ability to perform on track,” Horner said.

A lot of people including Stuck, however, have said that the numbers put forward by Horner are hugely exaggerated.