Christian Horner confirmed following the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix, that Red Bull will not be bringing any further upgrades to their already dominant RB19.
The statement of the Red Bull boss comes as a relief to their rivals teams who have been struggling to catch up with them since 2022, their efforts all in vain as the energy drinks outfit have won every race so far in 2023, even the Sprints.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Horner was asked about the RB19's upgrade plan for the rest of this season, he responded: "I think that’s pretty much it.
"There will be some circuit specific bits and pieces, but we’ve got six months to come up with another one, and with a lot less wind tunnel time than our opponents. That’s where we’ve got to be really selective in how we use our resources," he explained.
Red Bull are dealing with a reduction in their wind tunnel time for two reasons. The first being down to F1 regulations that state that the higher a team finishes in the Constructors' Standings,the less wind tunnel time they get as an effort to bring the teams closer together. Red Bull won the Constructors' Championship in 2022.
Furthermore, the Milton Keynes squad were found to have breached the 2021 F1 cost cap, the ruling delivered in 2022 along with a $7-Million fine and a 10% reduction in their wind tunnel time.
Reduction in wind tunnel time pushed Red Bull to be selective
Horner is adamant that the cost cap penalty has severely affected his team, despite his rivals insisting otherwise, and he repeated his claims in Belgium.
"The reduced tunnel time kicked in from last October. So, we’ve had to be hugely selective in how we use that time," he said. "Of course, trying to balance things between this year’s car and next year’s car.
"That’s when the team… and all [the] credit to everybody back in Milton Keynes. This result is their result, the way they are applying themselves to the challenge at hand.
"It’s incredible the history we are making," the 49-year-old Briton hailed.
Indeed, Red Bull have already broken McLaren's record of 11 consecutive wins in F1, that stood firm since 1988, as as Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have racked up 13 consecutive wins for their team since the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the season finale that Verstappen won.
With Verstappen winning eight races on the trot, he is also close to breaking the record of nine-consecutive wins in a season held by Red Bull's previous Champion Sebastian Vettel, not to mention the chance of breaking his own record for most wins in a season - the Dutchman won 15 races last year.
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