Ferrari would be “very surprised” if Red Bull brings a lightened chassis

Like other teams, Red Bull has been struggling since the start of the season with an F1 which exceeds the minimum weight set by the 2022 regulations, initially set at 795 kg then raised to 798 in the face of the overall difficulties in reaching it. During the Belgian Grand Prix, noises from the paddock raised the possibility that the Austrian team will soon have a new lightweight chassis.

Christian Horner, the director of Red Bull Racing, was evasive on the subject after the race, assuring however that the team intended to use during the next races the chassis present at Spa, by affirming that they were similar to those of Hungary. Asked about these rumours, the Briton’s counterpart at Ferrari, Mattia Binotto, for his part admitted that the introduction of a new version of this element would be a surprise in view of the requirements linked to respecting the budget ceiling.

“We now have the Technical, Sporting and also Financial Regulations, which can make the difference between the teams in the way they interpret and apply them”he first said on the subject. “We know we need a very strong FIA to get everything framed properly, otherwise the rules themselves won’t be fair and just.”

At Ferrari we will never be able to introduce a lightweight chassis […]just for budget reasons

Mattia Binotto

“Now I can’t judge the [châssis] reduced from Red Bull, because as you said, [il n’existe] maybe not. We at Ferrari will never be able to introduce a lightweight chassis or a new strategy [liée au châssis] over the course of a season, simply for budgetary reasons. I would be very surprised if other teams were able to do that.”

It’s not the first time this season that Mattia Binotto has mentioned the budget cap in reference to Red Bull. Last May, when asked about the pace of development displayed by the structure of Milton Keynes, he declared as follows: “I’m hoping, because there’s the budget cap, that Red Bull will stop development at some point, otherwise I won’t understand how they do it. If there’s a concern, it’s the scale. of their development in the context of the budget cap. We are certainly worried about that. But more than a concern, it is perhaps a hope, because at some point they will have to stop…”

More recently, the Italian-Swiss leader had also raised concerns about how to control the spending limit. A concern reiterated on the side of Spa this weekend, Binotto stressing that there is “a big question mark” in a financial regulation still “very young”before adding: “The number of people who control this within the FIA ​​is very small, so you have to do better for the future. Because it would be really bad if a championship was somehow determined by financial regulations, not technical ones. and athletic.”