As fans are already aware, Red Bull faced a penalty for breaching the cost cap limit back in 2021. The cost cap back in 2021 was 114 million pounds. However, team Red Bull team spent 1.86 million pounds more. And as a result, the Austrian team had to pay a fine of 6.05 million pounds and a 10% reduction in their testing of the aerodynamic. Albeit Red Bull thinks it was a very big punishment, other teams may not agree.
The Austrian F1 team has dominated the grid since 2021. The new era of cost cap has actually helped the Austrian team more than any other team. The two other powerhouses – Mercedes and Ferrari, both have struggled since 2021. Mercedes won the constructor’s title in 2021 but narrowly missed out on the driver’s title. Since then, they have not even come close to the title contention. The Italian team, on the other hand, started pretty well last season, with Charles Leclerc winning two races of the first three. But he later lost his way and gave a free pass for the World Championship to Max Verstappen. Now, the new Ferrari boss has come out to discuss the long-lost issue once again.
Ferrari Boss Feels The Penalty To Red Bull Was Too Light
Albeit, this year, Charles Leclerc is nowhere near the title contention after the first three races. His teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. is doing better than him this year but is still not a title contender. Hence, it is understandable the Ferrari team is not a happy camp at the moment. That frustration has inspired the team principal of Ferrari, Fred Vasseur, to suggest that the penalty against Red Bull was “too light.” Currently, the champion team is enjoying a 97 points lead over the Italian team.
The boss Vasseur suggests the Austrian team deserved more severe punishment. The Ferrari boss mentioned, “Nonetheless, Red Bull has done a great job, but if you breach the cost cap a year before and, due to that, have an advantage in the following seasons, then that is compensation.” The Ferrari boss answered the speculations regarding the change of design of the car. He mentioned, “No, we are sticking to the plans we had for the season. We had a better result in Australia and would like to build momentum on it.”
Mercedes Trying Their Best To Catch Up To The Milton Keynes Team
Mercedes, on the other hand, expressed a desire to change the design of the car and make it more like Red Bull. Also, Aston Martin designed their car with Red Bull as an inspiration. It looks like Horner’s team getting the success in recent times due to their design of the car. Mercedes came second in the Australian Grand Prix, but that success did not fool them. The Brackley team gets that the race tracks make the difference.
The smooth Melbourne track helped Mercedes, unlike the tracks in Bahrain and Saudia Arabia. Mercedes will need special upgrades to give Verstappen and co. a challenge this season. But Mercedes and Ferrari both seem to be far behind the Milton Keynes team. Perhaps Red Bull will have an easy way forward to their third consecutive domination of the constructor’s and driver’s titles.