Ahead of this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix, which is the penultimate round of the 2022 Formula 1 season, double World Champion Max Verstappen has opened up on the impact he’s expecting the team’s budget cap penalty to have next season.
On-track, Red Bull have enjoyed a dominant campaign, with the Austrians having won 16 of the 20 completed races this season.
Off-track, though, is a completely different story, with the side having been met with controversy and heartbreak.
Following much speculation, it was confirmed by the FIA after the Japanese Grand Prix that Red Bull had exceeded the 2021 budget cap by $2.2 million; however, this sum would’ve only been $430,000 if they’d filed their tax documentation correctly.
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As a result, the side were slapped with a $7 million fine and a 10-percent reduction in permitted aerodynamic research, meaning they’ll receive less time in the wind tunnel than originally allotted to them.
Whilst this was all unfolding, the Austrians also had to deal with the death of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, which has resulted in a management restructuring at the energy drink company.
Verstappen has opened up on the budget cap scandal and how he expects the penalty to impact his side next season, something he expects to definitely happen, despite the sheer extent of the impact being unknown.
Nevertheless, he predicts that his side will “hopefully” be at the front again in 2023, with the leading side having a “lot of good ideas”.
“It will affect us, but how much I don’t know yet,” Verstappen said.
“I am confident the team and the people we have will use that as extra motivation to do even better,” he said.
“I know they already give their best. We have a very competitive car, and we have a lot of great ideas for the car for next year, and hopefully it will be enough.”
Verstappen enters this weekend’s race in Interlagos targeting his 15th win of the 2022 season, in order to set the highest possible benchmark for the new record of most wins in a single season, which he now holds.
It is, though, a sprint weekend, the last one of the season.
The Dutchman has openly admitted he’s “not a big fan” of the sprint events, due to drivers not wanting to “risk” damage ahead of the traditional race on Sunday.
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“Honestly, I’m just not a big fan of it,” Verstappen said.
“I feel like we don’t really race [on Saturday]. There are a few points that you get, right, but you also know that you can’t really risk it because the main race is where you really get the points.
“You don’t do a pitstop, so you just put on the tyre which will last the distance. You don’t really see a lot of overtaking unless there is a car out of position. So it’s not really that fun for me.”