Christian Horner punishment claim disputed

Christian Horner talking to the press — Photo: © LAT Images

Red Bull - budget cap

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Horner punishment claim disputed

Windtunnel restriction will not harm Red Bull too much

Ian Parkes

Saturday 29 October 2022 09:04 Updated: 11:03

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer has questioned the claims of Christian Horner after his Red Bull counterpart suggested major issues with its penalty for breaching F1's budget cap.

Aside from a $7million financial sanction, Red Bull has also been hit with a 10 percent reduction in its windtunnel testing programme and CFD limits.

Horner claimed this to be "an enormous amount", suggesting next season's car will be up to half-a-second per lap slower.

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Although claiming the punishment from the FIA's Cost Cap Administration fits the crime, Szafnauer does not believe Red Bull will be as handicapped as Horner suggests.

Asked by Sky Sports F1 as to how painful is the punishment for Red Bull, Szafnauer said: "It will have an impact but not a huge impact.

"It is more than 10 percent between first and last [in the constructors' standings]. That happens already. We have a scale. It is not insignificant but it is not to the point where it punishes you too much."

Red Bull apology moot

Red Bull was found to have exceeded the cap by £1,864,000. However, if it had filed its tax documentation correctly, the breach would only have been £432,652 or 0.37 percent of the £118m allowed.

"They were marginally over from what I could tell by reading all the releases and listening to Christian but over is over," insisted Szafnauer.

"If we are a half-kilogram underweight, we are excluded from that particular race so I believe the punishment is a good one, the process was followed.

"I am happy the FIA and Red Bull have come to a conclusion and are happy to move forward. So are we."

It has been suggested Red Bull should apologise to F1 and the fans for the breach but Szafnauer feels this is a moot point.

"Say all we had was a public apology, would that have been good enough? I don't think so," remarked Szafnauer.

"It is not about apologising, it is about understanding, about having the punishment fit the crime and moving forward."