Red Bull boss Christian Horner admits worry over ‘draconian’ penalty

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has admitted the loss of wind tunnel time could affect Max Verstappen by around half a second a lap next season. He stressed Red Bull believed the penalty was a ‘draconian’ measure after claiming to only breach the cap by less than one per cent.The FIA found Red Bull had breached the cap by £1.8million ($2.2m) which was 1.6 per cent over the allowance. However, they accepted this would drop to just £432,000 ($0.5m), or 0.37 per cent  if there had not been a tax error.Nonetheless, the team have been hit with a 10 per cent reduction in car development time as well as a $£6.4million ($7mil) fine. Speaking at a Red Bull press conference, Horner said: ‘The FIA accepted there were mitigating factors in particular one specific item where essentially we overpaid in tax. ‘When you take that into account, a 1.8 per cent breach comes down to a little over $400,000. So a 0.7 per cent breach is essentially what we are talking about. READ MORE: Red Bull ‘broke F1 budget cap rules in 13 areas’ warns FIA report Christian Horner has stressed Red Bull will lose lap time (Image: Getty)”There was debate about the sanction and the size of the sanction. It was concluded earlier this week where [we] have been given a significant penalty – financially and sporting. ‘The more draconian part is the sporting penalty. That is an enormous amount. That represents between a quarter and half a second worth of lap time. That has a direct effect on next year’s car and will be in place for 12 months.”Red Bull was already set to receive the least development time next season due to a sliding scale of development handicaps for the top teams. It means Red Bull were set to receive 70 per cent of the overall wind tunnel allowance after winning the Constructors’ Championship.DON’T MISSMercedes boss Toto Wolff’s plan to ‘break F1 rules’ may become reality [INSIGHT]Red Bull think FIA penalty is ‘tough’ as Max Verstappen hit with issue [COMMENT]Max Verstappen keeps F1 title as Red Bull slapped with £6m fine  [ANALYSIS] Red Bull have also been hit with a £7million fine (Image: Getty)However, this will now drop to just 63 per cent or just 202 wind tunnel runs. In comparison, Ferrari are set to enjoy 75 per cent of the average wind tunnel allowance if they finish P2 in the teams; standings. Mercedes will receive 80 per cent wind tunnel allowance meaning they will have a massive 17 per cent advantage over Red Bull. Horner added: ‘We accept the penalties. Collectively we have a duty of care, together with the other entrants, there are lessons for everyone to learn. ‘The cost cap is an important part of F1. With such a new concept of incredibly complex regulations, it’s all different between all of those entities so that’s why we’ve chosen to accept it but as I say, it’s time to put it to bed and move on.”