Christian Horner airs feelings on FIA budget cap after Red Bull fine

Red Bull designer Newey admits 2023 looks 'tough' amid testing restrictions

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Even a £6million fine and a 10 per cent reduction in aerodynamic development time hasn’t deterred Christian Horner from supporting Formula 1’s budget cap. Red Bull were punished in October for breaching the cap in its inaugural 2021 season, with a large majority of the team’s £1.8m overspend that year revealed as being due to tax issues.

Horner has called for changes to the budget cap in the past, remarking that inflation, the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors have heightened the need for increased spending. He also commented in December that the smaller F1 teams “have too great a voice,” suggesting he’s not the ‘level playing field’ advocate to the extent some might hope to see.

However, Horner does appear to support the budget cap in its principle of promoting a fairer sport across the board. Now entering the third season under more constrained spending laws, the positive impact of the changes introduced two years ago is being felt.

“I think the principle of it is great and it’s driven efficiency,” the Red Bull supremo told RACER. “If I look at the business now, compared to where it was four or five years ago, we’d have ended up with a lot of stock of spare parts that were brand new that had never been used, and then they’re just scrap.

“And so now you just can’t afford to have that. You’ve got to be so effective and efficient. So I think from that point of view, it has driven great efficiency into the business. It’s got rid of that wastage that was there that nobody saw previously.”

F1’s budget cap made its debut at a maximum spend of $145m in 2021, before which some teams were allegedly spending in excess of $400m per season. The figure was reduced to $140m in 2022 and has fallen again to $135m for the upcoming campaign.

The tightened spend limit hasn’t prevented Red Bull from clinching back-to-back championships, however, as Max Verstappen has led the outfit’s resurgence to F1’s summit. However, their team principal still isn’t without his notes when it comes to perfecting the “still very immature” cap.

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“So they’re still evolving, and being tuned and as they’re being introduced into the power unit side of the business as well – I think principally, it is a good thing for Formula 1, and it does create a more level playing field,” added Horner. “I think there’s certain elements that still need to be tuned.

“At the moment, we’re seeing a discrepancy between chassis financial regs and engine financial regs that on the chassis side, they can have a Christmas party, on the power unit side, they can’t! So there’s certain things that I think need balancing up so there is a consistency across those caps. But I think on the whole, it’s a very positive thing.”

Verstappen and Red Bull will look to make it three consecutive F1 titles in 2023, but the team is under more pressure than ever in the wake of their recent penalties. The new campaign gets underway on March 5 in Bahrain, where Verstappen is still seeking his maiden in what will be his ninth attempt.

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