Helmut Marko and Red Bull ‘cautiously optimistic’ for 2023 despite cost cap penalty
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Red Bull F1 advisor Helmut Marko
Without a doubt, Red Bull were the dominant force in Formula 1 last season. Ferrari challenged them early in the season but fell away after the summer break. The British team won 17 out of the 22 races in 2022, which certainly wasn’t expected to be the case at the start of the season. Red Bull won both championships – Max Verstappen’s second title in a row, and their first constructors’ title since 2013.
But despite them running riot during the races, there was a small setback. Red Bull were found guilty of breaching the budget cap – and penalized $7 million, in addition to having their wind tunnel time reduced by 10%. While the implications of the second penalty should not be disastrous, it means that they will have to be a little more cautious in developing new parts.
This, according to Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko is their biggest concern for 2023. Talking to Austrian broadcaster ServusTV, Marko stressed the importance of being ‘efficient’: “We are of course sitting with this reduction of hours in the wind tunnel. That means we have to work very efficiently as a team. All the things we try out have to hit the mark immediately.” he said, as per PlanetF1.
Apart from changes related to bouncing/porpoising (which wasn’t a particular issue for them), roll bar, and fuel temperature changes, the cars won’t look too different. This, according to Marko, gives the team ‘a good basic package’: “But fortunately the technical changes for next year are not that big. It means we have a good basic package. The team also stays together and Max [Verstappen] is still getting slightly better. As a result, we can go into the new season cautiously optimistic.”
Helmut Marko: Red Bull can build on ‘very successful’ 2022 car
Being on top of new regulations always teams a few advantages – Mercedes in 2014 are a good example of that. Building on their domination in the first season of the new ‘hybrid’ era, they went on to win every Constructors’ championship until 2021. In 2022, new regulations were introduced and the teams that looked on top were Red Bull and Ferrari, even though the latter faded away.
Being so successful in 2022 will mean there will be a good base for Red Bull to build on in 2023, despite the aerodynamic testing time penalty. Helmut Marko is well aware of this: “We have a tradition at Red Bull that we don’t really finish the car until the very last moment. But the concept of the car is already there. We can indeed build on a very successful 2022 car.”
Red Bull have a very good chance to repeat their success in 2023, but it’s unlikely that it will be as dominant again. Mercedes are on the way up, while Ferrari look to sort out their issues with tyre degradation and engine reliability. If the latter can also tackle their race execution problems, they will be in prime position to challenge Red Bull next season, especially as they seemed to have some performance in hand in the second half of the season.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)