Red Bull Takes Drastic $2 Million Measures to Slay Major F1 Pace Disadvantage

The strictness toward safety as per the 2022 regulations has already caused a lot of problems for the constructors. Because of the new regulations, nine out of ten cars on the grid are still overweight. However, before racing resumes after the summer break, championship leader Red Bull wants to tackle the excess weight.

Red Bull is reportedly working on building a lighter monocoque. For the unaware, a monocoque is an outer body that protects the Formula 1 car driver. The monocoque is made from carbon fiber-reinforced composites and is virtually indestructible, and yet is extremely light. Paddock talks at the Hungarian GP suggested Red Bull’s RB18 is already 7kgs over the desired limit.

A lighter monocoque will definitely solve the overweight issue. However, building a new and lighter monocoque will come with its challenges. First, it will be a costly affair. Second, the new chassis will have to endure FIA’s ​​crash test again and all the relevant static load tests.

Third, the championship-leading team will have to build three new chassis as per the regulations. As we are all aware, every aspect of F1 is an expensive affair, and rebuilding the monocoque will not be light on Red Bull’s pockets.

“That would be far too expensive. Not just because of the crash tests. You have to build three new chassis, and they cost you two million extra,” said a source. (Translated by Google)

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Although the lighter chassis will help the RB18 gain an extra 2/3 tenths, the additional $2 million cost will add up to another challenge that Red Bull might face later in the season.

Red Bull adding extra 2 million dollars to the extremely tight budget cap

The 2-3 tenths of an advantage to an already rapid RB18 is massive for Red Bull and worth every penny. However, in the world of F1 since 2021, every penny is accounted for.

The FIA has placed the budget cap exactly for the reason of controlling overspending. So teams cannot exploit the financial advantage and increase the gap from the midfield teams.

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Keeping the budget cap in mind, the Milton Keynes-based team will not take the additional $2 million charge lightly. This would never have been a possibility without the inflation allowance, something Christian Horner had been pleading for.