Horner: “I think the gap will widen between the teams” before 2021

Christian Horner (Red Bull) is a man who has become an expert in the small tackle well felt in front of the paddock microphones. The Briton has once again shed new light on a hot topic, that of the new regulations to be adopted for the 2021 season of Formula 1.

The budget cap will be introduced in 2021, the year when the design of the single-seaters will also be modified as well as other technical points. However, the main Red Bull team would have liked the introduction of cost control to be postponed

“I think we missed an opportunity. In fact, I held it up last week (during the meeting between teams in Paris. Editor’s note), he reveals. Controlling budgets, I think everyone agrees, (but) it's painful for big groups.

Obviously, this will prevent them from exceeding 175 million euros in expenses. I think that with more hindsight, we would have been more inspired to keep the spending limit in 2021, then take more time to develop these rules and evolve them to maturity for 2022.

Thus, any development chosen by the leading teams would have fallen under budget control in 2021.” 

If we translate the words of Christian Horner, the gestation work for the 2021 car can be pushed to the extreme by Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull in 2020, while the other more modest structures will lag behind a delay that has become chronic since the long-term adoption of V6 Turbo Hybrid in 2014. 

“The transitional period in 2020, keeping the current regulations (without cost control. Editor’s note), will be a very spending year and I think the gap will widen between the teams heading towards 2021.

 Those with the most resources will simply spend more time in the Research & Development phase (R&D) before the cars hit the track in early 2021. 

What is happening is a very good thing, but car and the concept of cost control are currently underdeveloped. » Remember that the 2021 regulations must be finalized at the end of October. Here we are.