Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Miami International Autodrome, 2022

Budget cap will make continuous development “very hard” for Red Bull – Horner

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In the round-up: Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says the combination of the budget cap and high inflation will make decisions about when to introduce upgrades even harder.

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In brief

Inflation and budget cap limiting upgrade options at Red Bull

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto recently suggested Red Bull will not be able to sustain their recent rate of updates due to the budget cap.

Horner said teams were already working within financial constraints, especially with relatively high inflation, when it came to deciding when to introduce upgrades this year.

“I think with the budget cap this year it’s very hard to bring continuous development,” he said. “So you’ve got to strategically pick where you want to introduce your components, especially with inflation the way it is.”

Concerns about the rising costs of logistics were a factor behind the decision not to replace this year’s Russian Grand Prix.

Alpine announce title sponsorship for French Grand Prix

Alpine will be the title sponsor of this year’s French Grand Prix. A special grandstand will be dedicated to celebrate home driver Esteban Ocon.

Last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix winner said it was a proud moment for he and his family. “To have a grandstand named after you at your home race is an absolute privilege and one I never thought I would have when I started racing,” said Ocon.

“Every time I go past I will think of what it means; for every young racer in that stand and watching at home it shows what you can do if you put your mind to it and take advantage of all the opportunities that come your way.”

Bolukbasi and Correa return, Zendeli replaces Schumacher in Charouz F3 seat

Bolukbasi has missed four out of six F2 races this year
Cem Bolukbasi has been cleared to drive in the Barcelona Formula 2 round. The Charouz racer sustained concussion in a crash during practice for the Jeddah round, then suffered a broken rib during the Barcelona test which prevented him racing in Imola.

Juan Manuel Correa, who missed the Imola Formula 3 rounds with a fracture to his foot, will return to his ART seat in Barcelona. In a message on social media he said he had been able to return to the simulator but “took it easy on the brakes as the foot is still fragile.”

“So far so good,” he added. “We’ll see how it holds up this weekend in Barcelona.”

Lirim Zendeli will return to F3 in place of David Schumacher at Charouz. Zendeli has raced in Formula 4 and Formula 3 with Charouz before. He has been absent from the series since encountering budget problems before the season finale last year, while driving for MP Motorsport. Schumacher’s seat was originally occupied by Ayrton Simmons, who also ran into budget trouble and was unable to continue after the opening round in Bahrain.

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Comment of the day

After F1 announced there would be no replacement for the Russian Grand Prix, Bullfrog suggests a venue famous for a different sort of racing, which the Black Sea town happens to be twinned with:

How about a street race in Sochi’s twin town – Cheltenham?

Why are FIA scared of football? A grand prix would provide some relief from all the hype, especially in the never-ending group stages of the World Cup.
@bullfrog

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to David Craft and Laurie Gregg!

On this day in motorsport

  • 65 years ago today Juan Manuel Fangio won the Monaco Grand Prix for Maserati after Stirling Moss, Peter Collins and Mike Hawthorn all crashed.

Author information

Hazel Southwell
Hazel is a motorsport and automotive journalist with a particular interest in hybrid systems, electrification, batteries and new fuel technologies....

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5 comments on “Budget cap will make continuous development “very hard” for Red Bull – Horner”

  1. Inflation & budget cap limit upgrade options equally among all teams.

    This time a carmaker’s sub-brand becomes a GP title sponsor. I wonder what’s next?

    Unchanged DRS zones are unsurprising since the Montmelo circuit doesn’t have any other viable sections for DRS.

    First IndyCar test drive invitation, now FE. I wonder what series might be the next one, SF, WEC, DTM, etc.

    More requests than in Melbourne speak volumes.

    COTD’s joke is good.

    1. @jerejj Yeah exactly…Horner’s words could be said by all the TP’s on all 10 teams. We’re seeing it. eg. Mercedes would likely have already made far more strides than they have by now. They’d understand their car more if that had their usual no shortage of money to throw at several iterations of several components to trial. Ferrari for now has seemingly spent little but are bringing upgrades this weekend, and I’ve read that RBR haven’t done any upgrades yet that would be considered expensive, although coming up with weights savings can be, and they and all teams are striving to get lighter. RBR has chosen this weekend and Silverstone as ‘major’ upgrade stepping stones.

      Bottom line, it’s been more crucial than ever to get the car right from the getgo, and more difficult than ever to do something about it when you don’t.

  2. The Dolphins
    19th May 2022, 14:30

    How long until teams start to offshore manufacturing because of the budget cap?

    1. I think it is the opposite. Go off-shore and now you’re not only not doing everything possible in-house ala the direction RBR are going, but you are subject to all the problems and costs associated with satellite manufacturers you have less control over, and to exorbitant freight costs.

      No it is, to me at least, highlighted that especially in this global climate of high energy and freight costs (and delays and holdups) that F1 teams should be thinking more and more like RBR who will in two or three years be able to make everything they need under one roof, including their pu.

      1. Don’t you mean like Ferrari?
        They pretty much make 90% of their car in house.

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