Red Bull close to using up all of their development budget

Red Bull are reported to have already gone through the majority of their development budget in 2022 having brought substantial upgrades to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, according to the Italian edition of Motorsport.com.



The Milton Keynes side gained “two tenths” of a second per lap to Ferrari as a result of the evolutions according to Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto, but the Scuderia’s first batch of changes are to be introduced at the next race in Spain.



Those changes have helped Max Verstappen take two wins on the bounce in Imola and Miami, while taking an estimated 5kg off their car’s weight.



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They are expecting another drop as a result of the adaptations they will put on the car in Spain, and adviser Dr Helmut Marko affirmed that this will see them hit their “optimal” weight.



Binotto revealed that his team are being more conservative in their approach, and used the first five rounds of the year to decipher which areas they should prioritise.



“I have always said that we would have to wait five races to assess the competitiveness of the cars,” said the Italian.



“Now five GPs have been disputed and we are leading the two world championships, so we must not be disappointed, but it is true that Red Bull has improved its car by introducing updates.



“If I look at the last two races, they have recovered about two tenths of a second compared to us. And to keep up we will have to introduce updates.”



The 52-year-old also indicated that his rivals would eventually run out of scope due to the $140 million budget cap.



“There is also a budget cap and at some point Red Bull will have to stop developing. In the next races, however, it will be our turn to update the car,” he added.



“In Barcelona we could have an important package for us. As always, I hope that the innovations that will be introduced behave according to expectations and could be a good push to reach Red Bull.”



The cost cap for development is thought to be around $10 million due to the multiple other facets that the money has to be spent on, and one of those is shipping.



Red Bull boss Christian Horner revealed that the cost of moving freight around the world is increasing, and he does not believe that the current cost cap is sustainable.



“So that’s one issue that we’re working, obviously, very closely with the logistic guys and Formula 1 with, but then, of course, there’s the cost element and I think freight is close to doubling this year,” he explained.



As a result, he suggests there be a subsidy for freight so that the teams do not exceed the expenditure limit before the end of the season.



“We see that in all the cost of living, we see inflation throughout the world and I think that’s… again when you consider that freight is something that is currently within the cap, we need to find a sensible allowance that takes into account these inflationary costs because it has a one-on-one effect on parts and people at the end of the day, that your only compensatory place to offset that,” he added.



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“I think the teams by and large are looking to find a workable solution but it is a concern, it’s something that we need to address sooner rather than later.”



Such an allowance would leave more room for development on the cars and, having already brought changes to both Imola and Miami in a bid to solve “porpoising,” the report suggests that they will running an even thinner line than Red Bull when they install their upgrades in Barcelona.
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