Sky Sports F1 pundit Ted Kravitz has explained that Red Bull's punishment for breaching cost cap rules in 2021 will only "bite" them at the end of the ongoing season.
Red Bull were fined £6m and hit with a 10% reduction in their wind tunnel testing time after coming to an 'accepted breach agreement' with the FIA over a 'minor' breach of the regulations. Christian Horner, Red Bull's team principal, branded that aspect of the punishment "draconian".
"The more draconian part is the sporting penalty, which is a 10% reduction in our ability to utilise our wind tunnel and aerodynamic tools," he said last year. "I've heard people reporting today that it's an insignificant amount. Let me tell you now, that is an enormous amount.
"That represents anywhere between a quarter and half a second's worth of lap time. By winning the constructors' championship, we become victims of our own success by – in addition to that 10% – having a 5% incremental handicap compared to the second and third placed-teams."
However, Red Bull have continued to dominate the sport this season with either Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez winning every race so far. And Kravitz has explained the reduction in aerodynamic testing time is only set to have an affect on Red Bull's success next season.
"It's clear to me now why the upper surfaces, the sidepods and all the rest of it of the RB19 look more or less the same as the RB18," he said on Sky Sports. "It's that Adrian [Newey], Pierre Wache and all of the people at Red Bull spent all their time over the winter on that floor.
"And if you're thinking about 'Hang on, what about cost cap aerodynamic testing restrictions, a penalty when is that going to come in?' Well, Pierre Wache, the technical director, had an answer for me for that on Thursday, when he said the end of the season that cut in aerodynamic testing is going to have an effect, and crucially it's going to have effect on next year's RB20 as well.
"I thought that was really, really interesting. So if you're thinking that 'Hang on I thought with the accepted breach of agreement of last year's cost cap how come they've got the best car?'
"It is going to bite Red Bull, just not yet and certainly not before they win this year's World Championship, which they deserve to because they've got a great car and Max Verstappen is driving brilliantly etcetera, etcetera, etcetera."
