Red Bull penalty positives, developing new processes and motivation

Red Bull won the 2022 Formula 1 Constructors' Championship and for that, as per the regulations, they will get a smaller allocation for aerodynamic development time, a practice applied to try and reduce the gaps between the teams.

But in addition to that, Red Bull were slapped with a penalty for violating the F1 cost cap in 2021, meaning they have to get by with 10% less wind tunnel and aero-development time for 12 months.

That doesn't seem to have affected the team's performance so far in 2023, as they have won all the grands prix contested so far in 2023, and don't seem to be slowing down.

However, Red Bull Technical Director Pierre Wache, insists the reigning F1 Constructors' Champions will feel the impact of the penalty towards the end of the season, especially when it comes to developing the new car for 2024.

"Every time when you have a restriction it affects you. We have a restriction because we were winning the championship last year and we are still leading," he told Sky Sports F1.

"Is the 10 per cent (further) reduction affecting us in the number of runs we are doing? We do less tests, less development but we have to be even more efficient in the way we work.

"For sure it will affect the performance of the end of the year car and next year," he insisted.

However, there is a silver lining; Wache said: "The positive of it is that it is maybe developing even better processes in the system and motivation in the team.

"When the system is against you, it's interesting to see that it affects you in some good ways. I try to see the positives of it but it's clear it's affecting us," he maintained.

Wache was quizzed why the Red Bull RB19 is so dominant, always the car to beat regardless of the track F1 is visiting.

"The efficiency, I would say," he pointed out. "On different tracks we are able to produce downforce without massive drag. That I think is the main strength, yeah.

"Honestly, I think when you make the car, you try to make it as quick as possible. As quick a car as possible," he went on. "And after, the success is also depending not only on you but also on the others. Then yeah, the difference is bigger than what we expected."

Red Bull's RB19 was in the spotlight after its floor was exposed during the Monaco Grand Prix, as it was being cleared from the track after Sergio Perez's crash.

"The floor is clearly a big part of the development," Wache said of the floor. "As you can see, even on the sidepods there is plenty of detail that has an importance in the full performance, and I think it is an overall optimisation of what we did between last year and this year.

"Clearly the floor detail shows that we are working hard on all this detail to make the car as best we can. Our aerodynamic department are doing a fantastic job," the Red Bull engineer concluded.