Red Bull has emerged as the team to watch out for every race in Formula One Motorsport in recent years. The luck has changed for the team since 2021, with Max Verstappen beating the then-defending champion Lewis Hamilton narrowly. Verstappen has proved to be the best driver on the grid at present. But perhaps it has got to do more with the kind of car Red Bull Racing is presenting the Dutchman with. RB19 has proved to be the best possible car to win the championship ahead of the rest in the cost-cap era. In the turbo-hybrid age, the team with the most enormous budget had the upper hand, which was Mercedes.
But in the Cost Cap era, the teams have to focus on building the best possible car on a limited budget. In the F1 grid, the team that faced prominent trouble with cost cap law are the champions, in fact. Due to breaching the budget limit, the Milton Keynes team had to pay a penalty of $7 million and a 10% reduction of their wind tunnel, which they served in the 2023 season. However, Christian Horner‘s takeaway of the same is different. Take a look.
Christian Horner Feels The Penalty Is Blessing In Disguise
Christian Horner responds to the punishments imposed on Red Bull for breaking the cost cap 🗣 pic.twitter.com/SoPpr6S2jk
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) October 28, 2022
According to Christian Horner, the Red Bull Team Principal, it has been a massive punishment. As the boss stated, “The sum of money was huge, and the change in the wind tunnel would create a difference between 0.25 seconds and 0.5 seconds of lap time.” Albeit, the Red Bull Boss mentioned that this problem made them focus more on the RB19 car.
Horner mentioned that it motivated the whole team in a big way, and people were more efficient than ever. On the other hand, Mercedes and Ferrari, in the beginning, had said that the new rule is beneficial for every team in the F1 grid. Everybody will have an equal chance to compete. And in the end, it will be profitable for all the teams. But as it turns out, the team that displayed the most issues with the cost cap law has been the most profitable ever since.
In The Cost Cap Era, Red Bull Is On The Top Of The F1 World
Red Bull is on the top again after 2013 when Sebastian Vettel was driving their car. Last year, Ferrari started better than anybody but could not hold on to it. Charles Leclerc was the best after the first three GPs but then lost his way and finally came 2nd to Verstappen. And Red Bull, with Verstappen steering their wheels this time, won in a grand style. Red Bull surprisingly won 15 of 23 races with Verstappen. And Leclerc was 154 points behind the Dutchman last year. But the way Red Bull started this season has impressed their rival team driver, George Russell. As he predicts that Verstappen will win all the GPs this season.
However, Red Bull Boss has warned his team to get complacent. It is because he feels things can change pretty quickly, as it is just the beginning. It looks like the Milton Keynes team is wary of Aston Martin. The two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso, is driving the car. Alonso has done pretty well, as he made a podium finish in Bahrain. Only time will tell if any time will come close or manage to beat the RB19 car this season.