Red Bull: F1 'cultural change' will impact in-season development

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says the "cultural changes" that have swept F1 in the past few years will impact the development landscape for teams moving forward.

Next week's Azerbaijan Grand Prix will likely signal the start in earnest of Formula 1's development cycle for 2023, with almost all teams introducing their first significant updates in Baku.

Development programmes will unfold at a steady pace thereafter although they will be in large part driven by the inevitable financial constraints imposed by F1's mandatory budget cap.

But for Red Bull, allocating its development resources this season is a double challenge: spending judiciously and efficiently while composing with the 10% reduction in aero development hours as part of its cost-cap penalty.

"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," admitted Horner.

"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."

• Read also: Horner reveals positive aspect of Fallows exit from Red Bull

Horner says F1 teams are facing a new paradigm in the wake of the introduction of a limiot on spending.

"It’s been a total cultural change over the last couple of years," he added.

"It’s a new challenge in Formula 1, how you apply your resources. 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."

Red Bull's early advantage will be tough to rein in for its rivals, which is why many are predicting an intra-team battle for the title between its two drivers.

But Horner doesn't believe that tensions will flare and that things will heat up between max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

"They are two competitive drivers, the relationship is fine, there is a good respect between the two of them,"said Horner.

"They both know the responsibility they have driving for the team.

"There’s expectations that come with that, but they're in a good place. They’ve been a very effective pairing for us, and I expect that to continue."

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter