Horner jokes about Red Bull fine: 'FIA has bought a new couch'

Red Bull Racing had to pay a seven-million-dollar fine in 2022 and received a penalty, allowing the team to use 10% less wind tunnel time in 2023. In Bahrain, team boss Christian Horner talks about how the penalty is being felt. The Briton also jokes about the amount of money paid.

Thus, at the Bahrain press conference, the team boss began to tell GPBlog.com and others: "It is good to see the fine being applied so well. We have got a new FIA couch and Tom is wearing a new suit. It's good to see that our funding into the FIA is being spent very effectively." After joking, the Brit continued on the serious penalty of less wind tunnel time in this year's race.

Efficiency of extreme importance at Red Bull

The penalty will be in force throughout the season, so Horner cannot yet determine exactly how much it has affected the team: "Efficiency is a keyword. The penalty applies for 12 months, so we still have about eight, nine months to go. That means we have to be very selective and extremely efficient in developing this car and next year's car."

Since the development of new cars always starts at the end of the season, Red Bull will also suffer from the wind tunnel penalty when building the RB20. According to Horner, this mainly depends on rule changes. The Briton expects regulatory stability for next year, so is not much worried. Horner does say: "It is, of course, a disadvantage."