Red Bull will not introduce special lightweight chassis until the last six Grands Prix of 2022.
While team consultant Dr Helmut Marko thinks Championship leader Max Verstappen could be on course to break the all-time record for most wins in a single season, Christian Horner handed over the points on the « i » concerning certain rumors.
« We are not going to use a special lightweight chassis. I don’t know where that comes from. The fact is that our chassis is too heavy and we are definitely working on having a lighter car for 2023, » he explains.
« Doing crash tests for this is necessary and maybe we will anticipate the schedule on this side. Whatever happens, it must happen on the 2022 budget. We cannot homologate a chassis in 2023, it’s too risky. »
According to several sources, the RB18 would now weigh 15 to 20 kilos less than at the start of the season and would now be at Ferrari level, ie 2 to 5 kilos above the minimum.
« The car was very overweight, but the weight was also in the wrong place in the car. That’s why it understeered a lot. Obviously I’m not going to comment on those numbers but yeah, I think everyone’s close now of the set limit and everyone should be at the limit next year. We have all learned a lot with these F1 2022. »
« Concepts want to converge, performances want to tighten. They are already closer than in 2021. And that has nothing to do with 2014. »
What to avoid in an era of domination of Red Bull then, after that of Mercedes F1?
« I wish I could inflict that many years of pain on Toto (Wolff) but it’s highly unlikely. Our team are performing at a very high level at the moment but Ferrari are fast and Mercedes are starting to dance again on right foot. »
