Red Bull Racing almost had a faultless 2022 season. Almost. The team won both championships with utter dominance. However, their season was plagued with controversy. There was the Brazil row between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. But the more concerning and pressing issue for Red Bull was the budget cap, that Red Bull’s boss, Christian Horner, was confident the team did not cross. This could be the reason Horner had a pessimistic approach while speaking about the 2022 cap.

The boss put up a confident front while discussing the 2021 budget on every occasion. However, when reality hit, the Milton Keynes-based outfit was left shellshocked. The team had no option but to accept the FIA’s ruling and the punishment. Although in 2022, the FIA increased the budget by 3.1% adjusting for inflation, raising the 2022 budget to $145.5 million. However, learning from his mistakes, the British boss put up a pessimistic front while discussing the 2022 budget.

As reported by Auto Motor und Sport, Horner communicated his lack of confidence. “We cannot be 100% sure that we have met the 2022 budget cap,” said Horner. [Translated using Google]

“After taking note of all the aspects that led us to exceed the expenditure ceiling in 2021 we are confident that we can also comfortably fall within the 2022 budget cap, one can never be 100% sure.”

However, Horner still believes the team has not overspent in 2022 as well as they wait for a clean bill of health from the FIA. “We won’t be completely calm until we get the certificate of fitness from the FIA, but I’d be really surprised if we weren’t under the spending cap,” he concluded.

Read More: Red Bull Hit With $6 Million Check Ahead of 2023 Season

However, as revealed by the F1 CEO Pat Symonds, RBR could’ve avoided the scandal in the first place.

F1 CEO reveals how Red Bull opting out of a dry-run led them to exceed the 2021 budget

Symonds revealed recently how all teams had an opportunity to do a dry-run for the budget cap regulations. RBR decided to save time and opted out of the dry run. This avoidant behavior, according to Symonds, in turn, cost the team time and money.

Speaking exclusively to Total-Motorsport.com, Symonds said, “Red Bull got a few things wrong, but every team was given the opportunity to do a dry run. Red Bull chose not to, and that’s probably why they made mistakes.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Christian Horner Unhappy with 2022 Budget Cap, Calls for Urgent Attention

Let’s hope the Austrian team has learned their lesson and participated in the “dry run” with the 2022 budget cap. Although that still doesn’t guarantee anything, and that is exactly Horner’s concern. Let’s also hope we get a verdict on the 2022 cap much quicker than the 2021 one.