Horner: Foolish to underestimate any team in 2022

Formula 1 is witnessing one of most radical technical regulation revamps in it history in 2022, as the sport moves in a new direction with regards to the aerodynamic philosophy adopted to generate downforce on the new generation of F1 cars, which will employ the ground-effect concept instead of creating downforce from the top surfaces of the cars.

The new regulations will also feature among other changes, 18" low-profile tyres and a new fuel mixture called the E10 that has 10% Ethanol in its composition.

Christian Horner tried to avoid making bold predictions as to who of the 10 F1 teams will be fast in 2022, and won't.

"I think it's probable that the big teams will be at the front," he told RacingNews365.com. "Which order they'll be in is difficult to predict.

"It's the same group of people that were designing last year's car that designed this year's car, so it's how you deal with a problem, how you interpret regulations, and the creativity of the group that differentiates them.

"It will be interesting to see what our competitors [do], but I think it'd be foolish to underestimate any of the teams with such a big regulation change," the Briton mused.

Being locked up in the title fight for the last minute in 2021, Red Bull had to push on with development of their RB16B, the car the Max Verstappen drove to his maiden F1 Drivers' Title. That was a tough endeavor for the Milton Keynes outfit as they balanced work between the 2021 car and the all new 2022 F1 machine.

Horner admitted as much, and said: "For sure, it was a difficult challenge. But we have to remember that [we] carried over probably 60% of the car.

"The big challenge for 2022 is that, one, the budget is reduced by five million, and two, every component is different, is brand-new. [We've got] a new chassis, new steering wheel, new pedals, new suspension – new everything!

"That obviously carries a considerable cost with it," he pointed out.

"It's not a cheap car, from what we've seen so far, in terms of construction, so that, inevitably, will be putting all teams under [pressure].

"I believe every single team in the paddock is at the budget cap limit for this year," Horner said predicting teams will suffer with lower the budget caps.

"It's always easier to go up than to come down!" he concluded.

Red Bull are yet to announce the date of reveal of their 2022 F1 car, the RB18, with which Verstappen will defend his title.