Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko thinks Ferrari has nothing to fear from Red Bull exceeding this year’s budget cap.
Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto said after a second consecutive defeat in Miami that Red Bull’s rapid development of its 2022 contender has come as a surprise given the new F1 budget cap rules that restrict spending.
“If there’s a concern, it’s how much they’re developing considering the budget cap. That’s certainly an issue,” Binotto admitted.
Ferrari’s rate of development has been noticeably slower so far in 2022, though the Italian team is expected to get things moving in Barcelona with weight reductions, a new floor, re-profiled sidepods, and other changes.
“It is clear that Red Bull has taken advantage of the developments they have been introducing consistently,” former F1 team boss Giancarlo Minardi told Italy’s OA Sport.
“Ferrari hasn’t put any new parts on the car yet,” he added, noting that Ferrari’s biggest disadvantage at present is “much more” aerodynamic drag.
“They also make less use of the ground effect and the car suffers from aerodynamic bounce. That has a huge effect on the tyres and we could see that in Miami.”
“We’ll have to see now how effective Ferrari’s solutions are.”
Red Bull’s “aggressive” rate of growth, according to Minardi, has resulted to frequent reliability issues, but Ferrari has “no problems besides accidents.” Despite the budget cap spotlight now shining on Red Bull, the energy drink-owned squad will press on in Barcelona.
“We will have new parts there and will finally reach our optimum weight. So far we have been quite a bit over the required minimum weight of 798 kilograms,” Marko told f1-insider.com.
Marko assured Binotto that Red Bull’s ongoing car development would not exceed the budget cap.
“Us and Ferrari are on an equal footing,” the Austrian insisted. “We are still looking forward to the big fight and we have full confidence in the FIA to ensure that everything goes well.”
“The difference will be made in whoever manages to get the best out of their package on the respective circuits.”
