How much will Red Bull's aero testing penalty really hurt?

A $7m fine and a 10% cut in aerodynamic testing time was Red Bull's punishment for violating 2021's cost cap rules: a punishment too harsh for the team's liking, and not harsh enough for its rivals. Here's a look at how it really affects Red Bull

The dust seems to have finally settled in the wake of the tempestuous storm over 2021's cost cap accounting. Red Bull has been forced to swallow the pill of a $7 million fine and a 10% reduction in aerodynamic testing time, and the other teams have had to accept that the punishment ends there. It's not a surprise that Red Bull wanted a lighter sentence and that the other teams wanted more – that's only natural in Formula 1's Piranha Club.

That's not to say that the endless grandstanding and melodrama from all sides has not been tiresome, but if Red Bull was to roll over and accept the penalty in good grace it would belie its initial stance that felt its accounting had been in order. Part of the eventual £1.8m overspend related to Red Bull's catering budget, so there's at least a chance that the team will have something to take the bitter taste away from the whole farrago.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.