One major factor in the championship this year is the cost cap and this can be especially difficult for teams whose cars suffer a massive crash. Exceeding the cost cap of $145 million can result in penalties such as point deductions, race bans, and even exclusion from the championship. Any one of these can be catastrophic for a team like Red Bull which is involved in a very close battle with Mercedes for the 2021 championship. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has now revealed the cost incurred from Max Verstappen’s crash in Silverstone on the official Red Bull F1 website
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0:00 - Red Bull Reveal Cost Of Max Verstappen’s Crashed Car
1:56 - Fast Feed
I'm your host Dillon Shelley and first up on Formula World:
Red Bull Reveal Cost Of Max Verstappen’s Crashed Car
Horner began by giving his thoughts on why Hamilton made a move into Copse
“Had Max made it through Copse, I don't think Hamilton would have seen him again that afternoon as he learned in the previous day’s Sprint Race. No matter how experienced or talented, all drivers experience a build-up of pressure at times and this was a moment of extreme pressure for Hamilton in the championship”
He then looked at the positives for the team
“The positives we can take from the weekend are that last year, we qualified a second off Mercedes. This year, we were within a tenth. We had a faster race car and we were able to beat them in the Sprint Race which shows that the Team’s monumental effort with the support of Honda, has allowed us to close the gap to the seven-time world champions and the pressure is on them”
He also spoke about the possibility of Red Bull requesting a review of the 10-second penalty that was given to Lewis Hamilton after the incident
“Given the severity of the incident and the lenient penalty, we are reviewing all data and have the right to request a review. We are therefore still looking at the evidence and considering all of our sporting options”
He signed off by revealing the cost of the crash
“The other significant factor is the cost-cap element of this. That crash has cost us approximately $1.8million and an accident like that has massive ramifications in a budget cap era”
Fast Feed
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has stated that they needed to “to make sure that the gap [in the championship] wasn't going to grow any further” [GP Fans]
“The big one was that [they] were absolutely desperate to see the car perform well and the team perform well”
"So, it is hugely reassuring to have been able to demonstrate [that they] are still in the fight for the championship”
F1’s managing director Ross Brawn feels that “there is certainly still room for individual interpretation. There won't be ten identical cars on the grid” in 2022 [Formule 1]
Retired F1 driver Giedo van der Garde is of the opinion that “as long as Hamilton is driving at Mercedes, [George Russell] is not going to come there” [Ziggo Sport]
Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff has stated that “yes, the simulator wasn’t [Lewis Hamilton’s] most favourite tool in the past” [F1]
However, he thinks they’ve “developed it to a level that is quite good and made it best in class, and he’s started to see the benefits of it”
Red Bull’s test driver Alex Albon has explained that the Red Bull car “was tricky last year, it wasn’t easy to drive. When the car is on the limit, it’s never going to be easy” [F1]
However, this year “already in winter testing, it was clear – when the guys went out – and there was a lot of rear grip in the car, which is something that [they] were struggling with last year. It was like ‘Ugh! OK! Fine!’ The team have definitely made a big step on it from one year to the next”
He added that “there is that side [of frustration at missing out on driving a championship-contending car]. [He feels] like, the car, the team, [they’re] on the up”
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto pointed out that it’s “now two races in a row that [they] had got good pace in the race, which has been [their] weakness as well at the start of this season” [Motorsport]
“Showing that as a team [they] were progressing and that is what [he’s] more pleased about, which is certainly more important, as well for the second part of the season now”
"After 10 races, [they've] got 17 points more than what [they] had at the end of last season. As a team [they are] showing that certainly the progress is a lot”
Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer pointed out that “even Mercedes — who bought Brawn, who were world champions — it took them another four years to win”
“So, it’s just what it takes when you have the goal, the ambition, the objectives and the funding to put the infrastructure in place as well as the correct people and then challenge for the world championship”
Would Alex Albon have fared better in the 2021 Red Bull car as compared to 2020?
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