Horner: Cost cap penalty 'draconian' – worth 0.5s of laptime

Christian Horner says the sporting penalty levied upon Red Bull for breaching F1's cost cap regulations is "draconian" and could impact the team's 2023 car by as much half a second a lap.

Red Bull has settled its budget cap breach case with the FIA, the team signing the FIA's Accepted Breach Agreement in which it recognizes its fault and agrees to pay a fine of $7 million in the next thirty days.

While the financial sanction is no small amount, Horner focused on the accompanying sporting sanction decided by the FIA, and which calls for a 10% reduction of permitted aerodynamic testing over the next twelve months, whether its wind tunnel usage or CFD design and research.

• Read also: FIA hits Red Bull with $7M fine for 2021 cost cap breach

"We’ve been provided a significant penalty, both financially and sportingly, from the seven million dollars – which is an enormous amount of money, that is payable within a 30-day period – and obviously the more draconian part is the sporting penalty, which is a 10% reduction in our ability to utilise our windtunnel and aerodynamic tools,” Horner told the media in Mexico City on Friday.

"And that, I’ve heard people reporting today [that it] is an insignificant amount – let me tell you now, that is an enormous amount.

"That represents anywhere between quarter and half a second worth of laptime."

Red Bull's sporting penalty comes on top of a the restrictions already imposed on the Milton Keynes-based outfit as a result of it winning the 2022 Constructors' championship.

Horner stressed that a reduced allocation of aerodynamic testing would inevitably have a bearing on the development of next year's car.

"By winning the constructors’ championship, obviously we’ve become victims of our own success by, in addition to that 10%, having 5% incremental disadvantage, handicap, compared to the second and third place [teams]," he explained, referring to Ferrari and Mercedes.

"So, just for clarity, we will have 15% less windtunnel time than the second-placed team [Ferrari] in the constructors’ championship, and 20% [actually 21%] less than the third place [Mercedes].

"Again, a draconian amount. So that 10%, put into reality, as I say, will have an impact on our ability to perform on track next year."

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