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Max Verstappen says he doesn’t think Red Bull’s 2021 cost cap breach penalty is “hanging over” the team, and he doesn’t “expect it to be a big limiting factor”.
After it was determined that Red Bull breached the 2021 budget cap, the FIA handed the team a $7 million fine, and a 10% reduction in aero testing time.
This caused quite a stir, as many of Red Bull’s rivals thought the penalty was not strict enough.
At Red Bull’s 2023 car launch event, Planet F1 asked Max Verstappen if the penalty is ‘hanging over’ the team.
“I mean, for sure, I don’t think it’s hanging over us because we never really talk about it,” he said.
“We are just very focused on what we’re doing right now, try to of course, put everything on the car, what we have been developing and try to hit the ground running very well and definitely have a better start to the year than we had last year and then from there, we’ll see.
“I mean, it’s difficult to predict what will happen. Are we good enough? Are we going to be quick enough? I don’t know.
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“But yeah, like I said, we have to focus on ourselves. That’s the only thing that we can control, and then we’ll find out throughout the year where we end up.”
While Red Bull team boss Christian Horner maintains that the penalty will be damaging for his team, even calling it “draconian” at one point, Verstappen doesn’t think it will be “a big limiting factor”.
“We have a lot of very competent people in our factory,” Verstappen said.
“Of course, it makes things a little bit harder. But I also look at it like this, I prefer to be in the position we are in than always finishing second or third in championship, because that’s way more depressing.
“I’m sure we have to be a little bit more precise of what we’re doing in the wind tunnel, but I don’t expect it to be a big limiting factor in if we’re going to win the title or not,” he concluded.
