Sky Sports F1 pundit Ted Kravitz has reversed his stance on the potential impact of Red Bull’s cost cap penalty following remarks made by team principle Christian Horner at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen secured Red Bull’s 100th grand prix victory on Sunday, standing atop the podium alongside Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen is poised to claim his third consecutive F1 title, although some have questioned his previous achievements due to Red Bull’s breach of the cost cap in the 2021 season.
The team was fined £5.48 million for a minor violation and faced a further 10 percent reduction in their allocated wind tunnel time.
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Initially, Kravitz suggested that Red Bull could face greater penalties in the upcoming season based on a conversation he had with Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache.
However, Horner’s intriguing comment about the team’s focus on next year’s car appears to have altered Kravitz’s perspective on the punishment.
During an interview with Sky, Horner stated: “Well, it’s finding that balance because obviously we have a lot less wind tunnel time, we have to start thinking a lot about next year.
“So you’re spinning a couple of plates at the moment, but with the regulations being stable, whatever you learn this year you carry into next year as well.
“So of course, there are things that we’ll still keep bringing to this year’s car, but a lot of the focus now back at the factory is already on next year.”
Upon hearing Horner’s remarks about the team’s plans for next season, Kravitz expressed concerns that the wind tunnel penalty may have little impact on Red Bull.
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In his Sky Sports F1 Ted’s Notebook show, Kravitz described the situation as a “virtuous circle” where the team might not face penalties in either season for breaching the cost cap.
Kravitz stated: “Here’s the downer for the rest of the teams, when Christian Horner said that we’re already designing and spending our time on next year’s car, on the RB20.
“They’ve already got the advantage with this year’s car, we’re not even at halfway [in the] season, and already they can have the capacity and the aerodynamic testing time and the wind tunnel time, even considering the penalty for the accepted breach agreement on the cost cap, to concentrate on next year’s car.”