Red bull boss Christian Horner is surprised by how Mercedes developed their car in 2022 considering the strict budget cap.
To make the sport more competitive and ensure equal spending between large and small teams, FIA introduced the budget cap in 2021. The budget cap that was of $145 million last year was breached by Red Bull. The team was found guilty of breaching the budget after a thorough investigation by the governing body.
Regardless, the 2022 season also had its budget cap. The cost cap dropped $5 Million more this season standing at $140 Million.
Mercedes went off to a slow start this season. The new regulations that changed the aerodynamic designs of the car meant all the teams had to adopt new floor and sidepod designs. The Silver Arrows came with a rather bold design of zero sidepod during pre-season testing. However, the design turned out to be disastrous as the team struggled throughout the season.
Horner wonders if Mercedes stayed below the budget cap
Red bull breached the cost cap in 2021. However, Red bull Team principal Christian Horner thinks that his main rival Mercedes might have breached the 2022 budget cap too now. According to the Briton, staying below the cap after bringing so many upgrades is very difficult:
“Under the budget cap, it has been surprising just the amount of development,”
said, Horner.
“We have had the least crashes and a moderate amount of development.”
“But it has certainly been surprising the rate they have developed, particularly in the second half of the year.”
“But that is F1. When you consider where they were in Bahrain to where they were at the end of the year, it was a big step.”
Expecting a Mercedes comeback next season, Horner added:
“I would expect them to be very strong. They are not going to have the experience of this year.”
“Look, they are a very capable team with very capable drivers and we are set for another really competitive season of Formula 1 in 2023.”
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