How much will Red Bull's aero testing penalty really hurt?

By:

Jake Boxall-Legge

Nov 15, 2022, 1:27 PM

A $7m fine and a 10% cut in aerodynamic testing time was Red Bull's punishment for violating 2021's cost cap rules: a punishment too harsh for the team's liking, and not harsh enough for its rivals. Here's a look at how it really affects Red Bull

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The dust seems to have finally settled in the wake of the tempestuous storm over 2021’s cost cap accounting. Red Bull has been forced to swallow the pill of a $7 million fine and a 10% reduction in aerodynamic testing time, and the other teams have had to accept that the punishment ends there. It’s not a surprise that Red Bull wanted a lighter sentence and that the other teams wanted more – that's only natural in Formula 1’s Piranha Club.

That’s not to say that the endless grandstanding and melodrama from all sides has not been tiresome, but if Red Bull was to roll over and accept the penalty in good grace it would belie its initial stance that felt its accounting had been in order. Part of the eventual £1.8m overspend related to Red Bull’s catering budget, so there’s at least a chance that the team will have something to take the bitter taste away from the whole farrago.

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Jake Boxall-Legge

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Jake studied engineering at university, as his original ambition was to design racing cars. He was bad at that, and thus decided to write about them instead with an equally limited skillset. The above article is a demonstration of that. In his spare time, Jake enjoys people, places, and things.