Christian Horner has confirmed that Red Bull’s long-awaited new wind tunnel won’t come online until 2026.
The delay in the construction of the state-of-the-art facility has been caused by a change in its planned location, which now necessitates the acquisition of new planning permission.
This requirement has therefore pushed back the wind tunnel's construction to 2024, with completion expected in 2026, which means that the team will not be able to leverage the facility’s capabilities at least until the development of its 2027 car.
Currently, Red Bull exploits a wind tunnel in Bedford, which it acquired during its takeover of the Jaguar F1 team in 2004. It was originally constructed in the 1940s for the purpose of aircraft development but has been upgraded accordingly over the decades.
Until last October, Red Bull made little use of its facility in 2023 due to the 12-month restriction on aero development imposed on the team by the FIA following its breach of F1’s cost cap regulations in 2021.
“Our (wind tunnel) allowance increased a bit in October as we’d served the penalty,” said Horner, quoted by Speedcafe.
“It allowed seven percent more time, but that’s eight percent less than any other competitor. That’s just the way these regulations are.
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“With the wind tunnel we have, which is a Cold War relic, and not particularly efficient, particularly in cold weather, which we tend to get a bit of in the UK, we have to be very, very selective.
“That’s where the team has done brilliantly well, really being selective in where we channel our development.
“With wind tunnels being a thing of the future, by all accounts, we’ve had to go with the times and invest in a new wind tunnel on which construction will start during 2024.”
Queried on when Red Bull will reap the benefits of its new tool, Horner is confident that its 2027 contender will undergo part of its development in the new facility.
“Probably for the ’27,” he said. “You don’t want to introduce it in-season, you have to nominate a tunnel for the year, so it’ll probably be to do the ’27 car in.”
Red Bull has invested heavily in the past two years in its Milton Keynes’ campus, with the team erecting and fitting a new building that houses the engine development activities of its Red Bull Powertrains affiliate.
Although its new wind tunnel will represent another significant capital expenditure, Red Bull Racing remains well financed by its mothership in Austria, despite the passing last year of the energy drink’s co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz.
“Since Dietrich’s passing, the commitment of the shareholders, the Thai shareholders, and the Mateschitz family, in Dietrich’s son, we’ve acquired more buildings this year than in any year in our history,” said Horner.
“The commitment to the campus in the UK is extraordinary. To have a state-of-the-art wind tunnel is something we’ve debated over the last 19 years.
“With where we’re at with Powertrains within a three-year period, recruiting close to 500 people, to have built a state-of-the-art facility with our own manufacturing capability, it’s a massive commitment by the shareholders and it demonstrates their commitment to the longevity (of the team).”
Horner says that Red Bull’s support is also a testament to Formula 1’s strength as a marketing tool for the parent company.
“It also demonstrates that Formula 1 is delivering,” commented Horner. “If you measure the incremental can sales that Formula 1 is delivering, in addition to the normal sales, we sold over 320 million cans off the back of Formula 1 activities.
“That would put Red Bull Racing in the top 10 countries of Red Bull, so Formula 1 delivers, and it’s delivering for the shareholders, for Red Bull, and it’s delivering for our partners, which is why we’re seeing more and more partners coming into the sport.
“Because of the health of the sport, the interest, and the new following, it’s never been in a stronger place.
“It’s why getting the future right, and the regulations right for 2026 onwards, we all collectively have a responsibility, as teams, the governing body, and the commercial rights holder, to make sure we get the ingredients for 2026 right.”
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