Red Bull boss Christian Horner said that he can't be "100% sure" the team have not exceeded the 2022 Formula 1 cost cap, following the controversy surrounding their breach of the 2021 rules last season. As a result the team were handed a $7 million fine and a 10% reduction in wind tunnel access and computer simulation time, which Technical Director Pierre Wache told RacingNews365.com would be a "tough" penalty. It will not be long before all the teams submit their financials for the 2022 season, with an extra 3.1% granted due to the rise in inflation costs, which takes the cap up to $145.5 million. Given the fluctuating economy in the UK over the last few months where Red Bull is based, Horner has cautioned that the team will not know if they have complied with the rules until the certificates are awarded by the FIA. "You could never be 100% sure," he told Auto Motor Und Sport . "But certainly [after] all the aspects that were a reason for us to be over in 2021, which remember it was a very first year of a set of very complicated regulations, we're confident that we should be comfortably within the cap."
Horner: Car development and crash damage was less in 2022
Horner cites the reduced amount of car development they did to the RB18 and lack of crash damage, as two key reasons why they should be within the agreed amount for 2022. He continued: "For 2022, the amount of development we did - and particularly crash damage that we had - was significantly less. "So, until you've got the certificate [of compliance], nothing is 100%. But I'd be very surprised if we weren't fully within the cap."
Most read
