Christian Horner says Red Bull's cost cap penalty that has reduced the team's aero development this year has positively impacted his outfit's efficiency and its motivation.
Red Bull's minor overspend in 2021 of F1's mandatory $145 million budget was sanctioned by the FIA last year with a $7 million fine and a 10 per cent reduction of its aerodynamic development hours.
At the time, Horner qualified his team's sporting penalty as "draconian" and likely to cost its cars between 0.25s and half a second a lap.
Since, Red Bull has hit the ground running in Bahrain while the effects of the cost cap penalty are having a positive impact on the team's efficiency and motivation according to Horner.
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"I think it focuses everybody’s minds, and it drives efficiency," Horner said, quoted by Motorsport.com.
"What we lost in wind tunnel time we gained in motivation."
Overall, Red Bull has been hit with a 63% allocation of wind tunnel and CFD time based on the penalty levied upon it by the FIA and the number of points accumulated by the team in the 2022 Constructors' championship.
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While noting the sanction's positive impact on his team's drive, Horner says the real brunt of its aero restrictions will need to be measured over a period of twelve months.
"It is something you have to view over 12 months, because it is not just this year’s car, it is also next year’s car," he explained.
"I think the really positive thing for us is that we are not dealing with a fundamental issue that soaks up that resource and time.
"It was vital for us to be able to cope with that penalty and to have a solid starting point. That is what the team has done a great job in achieving.”
"We have another eight, nine months still to go with it. It means that we’re going to have to be very selective and extremely efficient in how we develop this car and, of course, next year’s car."
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Despite its need to compose with a capped aero development programme, Red Bull is determined to hold its own at the head of the field throughout 2023.
But Horner warned that the slightest technical directive introduced by the FIA could derail its title challenge.
"It really depends if anything changes in the regulations," said the Briton.
"We’re expecting stable regulations but, of course it is a disadvantage, a handicap, to have not only the incremental difference that you have by being in first place in the championship, and on top of that a further 10%.
"So we’re 15% less time than [Ferrari] and 20% less than Mercedes and so on. That’s a significant number.
"So for us it’s all about being efficient and being effective in what we apply and choose to test in the tunnel, and how we develop both the RB19 and the RB20 car."
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