F1 News: Red Bull "Tipped Off" On Cost Cap Punishment So Could Plan Ahead

In a surprising revelation, former team owner Eddie Jordan has disclosed that Red Bull Racing had advanced knowledge about a potentially harsher cost cap penalty than the eventual punishment they received. The reigning constructors' champions breached the cost cap during the 2021 season, which coincided with Max Verstappen's first world title, leading to a penalty announcement in October 2022.

While Red Bull faced a significant financial penalty, the penalty also included a loss of 10% of their wind tunnel time, a crucial resource for Adrian Newey and his engineering team. However, according to Jordan, Newey himself seemed unfazed by the financial aspect of the penalty. The reason behind his calm demeanour was reportedly due to being tipped off beforehand that the reduction in wind tunnel time would be 20%, not 10% as initially believed.

During an interaction on the Formula For Success podcast, Jordan shared insights into his conversation with Newey, stating:

“What he’s doing at Red Bull is simply phenomenal,” Jordan said on the Formula For Success podcast.

“I’m out cycling with him and we’re preparing to do the Argus (cycling tour around Cape Town, South Africa) and this thing comes up about the penalty.

“I said, ‘Come on Adrian, level with me.' He was reluctant to accept it, but he had to because they’d been tipped off to prepare themselves for a 20 per cent reduction.

Jordan further mentioned that Newey's lack of concern about the financial penalty stemmed from the fact that an engineer like him would prioritise their work over monetary matters. He explained:

"He didn't care about the penalty in terms of money because an engineer will go to great lengths to achieve their goals. Adrian and Red Bull were fortunate in this situation because the penalty was related to an evolution rather than an entirely new design."

It remains to be seen how this penalty will impact the season for Red Bull Racin, but it's expected that we'll see a reduction in performance ain comparison to other teams as we push through the 23 races of the calendar.