Red Bull want F1 format changes pushed back two years

Red Bull

Red Bull want F1 format changes pushed back two years

Christian Horner is focused on saving costs amid global uncertainty

Sam Hall

Friday 17 April 2020 13:15

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has suggested Formula 1 should consider pushing the '2021 regulations' back by two years if bosses are serious about curbing spending.

A radical rules revamp was due to come into force next year, but as a way of keeping costs under control in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which will hit the revenue of all teams, it was agreed to delay the package until 2022.

Horner, though, is of the opinion that pushing things back by one year is not enough but admits that teams fearing they may be off the pace with their current machinery could put up a fight if any such proposal were to be made.

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“As dear old Ron Dennis used to bang on, if you want to save costs in this business, don’t change anything, and he was absolutely right," Horner told the Sky Sports F1 Vodcast.

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“That’s why I have a slight problem in introducing a complete overhaul of the car for 2022. There’s not a single component that is a carryover from 2021 into 2022.

"We’re going to be forced to go tyre testing and build mule cars, and it just seems an unnecessary pressure on the system to put that cost into 2021. I would have pushed the rules back a further year into 2023.

"If you’re a team, Ferrari, for example, are saying ‘Yeah, from a cost point of view we get it, we agree, but our car might not be that competitive. We want a clean sheet of paper.’

“Of course, all the teams further down the order think that a clean sheet of paper will change the pecking order. The reality is that it will change nothing, but it will impose an awful lot of cost drivers into the business next year.”

Far from the first crisis faced by F1, Horner says the sport needs to take drastic action to ensure the continued existence of all 10 teams on the grid.

“This crisis has had an effect on every single team, on every company in the world, and Red Bull is no different," Horner added.

"So, at times like this, a little bit like the financial crisis back in 2008, it does galvanise the teams and you have to start looking outside of your own interests and looking at the bigger picture, and the bigger picture of the sport and all 10 teams surviving.

“We went through this in order to keep…when Honda withdrew back in 2008, and we made some drastic changes at that time.

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“The teams have been pretty decent in getting together and really focusing on the cost drivers, and that’s the big teams, the medium-sized teams and the little teams.

"What’s happened with the regs by freezing an awful lot of the car - probably 60% of the car is now frozen from 2020 into 2021, so it’ll basically just be some aero updates between seasons - I think it’s absolutely the right thing to do if you’re just focussed on killing the costs."

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