Ex-F1 star has Red Bull and Horner suspicion around FIA penalty

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Ex-Formula 1 star Hans-Joachim Stuck suspects Red Bull will not feel the effects of their penalties for exceeding the 2021 budget cap next year because they’re already ‘so far ahead’ in planning for the 2023 season. The penalties were handed out by the FIA last week, with Christian Horner’s team fined £6.2 million, and deducted 10 per cent of their wind tunnel time.

Whilst the fine is only expected to brush the surfaces of Red Bull’s finances, the wind tunnel sanction is set to have a much bigger effect on the recently crowned constructors’ champions. As a result, team principal Horner believes it could well cost his team ‘up to half a second per lap’ going forward.

Addressing the punishment the Englishman said last week: “I’ve heard people reporting today it [penalty] is an insignificant amount. Let me tell you now that [it] is an enormous amount that represents anywhere between a quarter and half second’s worth of lap time…

“We accept the penalty, albeit reluctantly. I think there is a lesson for everyone here and we should continue to work together because the budget cap is an important part of Formula 1.

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“But that has to be done in a consistent way that is easy to implement.” Despite Horner’s concerns, former driver Stuck has predicted that he believes the Milton Keynes-based team will only start to feel the effects of the punishment in 2024 due to the team principal and Red Bull’s forward planning.

He told ServusTV as per GP Blog: “I am convinced that Red Bull is already so far ahead in planning that it will only have an effect the following year. Then they will definitely be in good shape. Addressing Horner’s time claims, he added: “I think it is excessive to turn the penalty into a number now: we have to wait and see.”

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Clearly not a fan of the FIA’s budget regulations, Stuck went on: “I think that’s a big joke! If a team rent a wind tunnel and sets up a wing, nobody can control it anyway. How is that supposed to come out?

“You should rather make regulations for Formula 1 that make everything very clear… Now, after every decision, the teams arrive with three lawyers. It must clearly be a regulation that cannot be contested.”

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