Formula 1
Red Bull denies it is burning through F1 development budget
Red Bull has played down suggestions it could be on the back foot by having burned through more of its Formula 1 development budget than rival Ferrari.
Jonathan Noble Christian Nimmervoll
Edited: May 14, 2022, 3:00 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
A raft of developments the Milton Keynes-based squad introduced at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has helped the team inch ahead of Ferrari, with Max Verstappen having triumphed at both Imola and Miami.
Ferrari has held back so far on introducing any major updates on its F1-75, with it intending to bring its first batch of upgrades to the next race in Spain.
The Italian team has expressed some belief, however, that Red Bull's current advantage may be the result of the team having spent much more on development so far this year, which means it will likely hit its budget cap ceiling much earlier.
Mattia Binotto, Ferrari team boss, said after Miami: "I hope, because there is as well a budget cap, that at some stage Red Bull will stop development: otherwise I will not understand how they can do that."
But Red Bull has dismissed any talk that it has accelerated its spending and thrown more resource than needed at early season progress.
Helmut Marko, Red Bull's motorsport boss, is emphatic that his team's spending is in line with its rials, and that its gains appear to be so great because it is shedding weight with each update too.
Helmut Marko, Consultant, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
Asked if Red Bull had put more down that Ferrari so far this year, Marko said "I don't think so. We plan our updates in such a way that we always lose weight with each update, because unfortunately we still haven't reached the minimum weight. And we won't quite reach it with the next update either.
"I don't think we are in a significantly different position to Ferrari in this regard. Especially since I wonder what effect it has on them that Carlos Sainz has already crashed the car several times. That can't be cheap."
Read Also:
- Alpine seeks FIA talks over "wholly unjust" Alonso F1 penalty
- Vettel: Climate crisis makes me question racing in F1
Marko said that any concerns that Red Bull had about the budget cap were related to aspects that affected all teams equally, such as the escalation in freight costs.
"It's true that the increased logistics costs are a problem," he said. "But that doesn't just affect us, it also affects Ferrari and all the other teams."
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said that he was mindful of the budget cap limitation, and that the focus was on producing changes that delivered the biggest bang for buck.
"You've got to be very careful where you introduce your upgrades because of the budget cap restrictions this year," he said. "We've just got to make sure that we introduce something that is value for money."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Alpine seeks FIA talks over "wholly unjust" Alonso F1 penalty
Next article Russell: Bouncing Mercedes F1 car is a "killer to drive"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull called Christian Horner to thank him for F1 engine project after maiden win
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
4 h
Red Bull called Christian Horner to thank him for F1 engine project after maiden win
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Latest news
Marc Marquez puts his chances of retiring within three years at 70%
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
12 min
Marc Marquez puts his chances of retiring within three years at 70%
Audi hands F3 runner-up Freddie Slater F1 practice debut
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
47 min
Audi hands F3 runner-up Freddie Slater F1 practice debut
On this day: Fernando Alonso wins the world title, Michael Schumacher retires from F1
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Brazilian GP
2 h
On this day: Fernando Alonso wins the world title, Michael Schumacher retires from F1
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe