F1 Reporter Claims Red Bull Won't Feel Affects Of Cost Cap Penalty Until End Of 2023/Early 2024

Ted Kravitz gives expectations for Red Bull in 2023.

According to Ted Kravitz, Sky Sports F1 pit lane reporter, there are three reasons why Red Bull is poised to be almost unbeatable in 2023. 

After a dominant 2022 season in which they secured both world championship titles, with Max Verstappen winning 15 out of 22 races and retaining his drivers' crown, Red Bull is looking to build on their success. Despite a renewed challenge from Ferrari and Mercedes' hopes that their modified W14 challenger can bring Lewis Hamilton and George Russell back into title contention, Kravitz believes that Red Bull will still be the team to beat.

Although Red Bull's RB19 has been shrouded in mystery, Kravitz has provided some insights about their latest challenger. He claimed that Red Bull will finally introduce the lightweight chassis that was rumoured to have been developed last season but never raced. Weight was one of the few weaknesses of the RB18, and Red Bull's performance is expected to benefit from this upgrade right from the start. Kravitz explained to Sky Sports:

“Red Bull will start with the lightweight chassis that they introduced and designed and made we think but never raced towards the end of the year [2022]. They’ll start with that as a base.

“They will develop that, so it will be underweight and they can ballast it up to meet the weight limit.”

Kravitz continued:

"They will have done all the academic work and design before the restrictions they had on the accepted breach agreement of their cost cap restrictions came in, their penalty for that.

“So they’ve done all the work before that even comes in. Towards the end of this year and next year it will start to bite.

“They have the best driver on the grid in terms of form at the moment, even considering Lewis Hamilton.

“We haven’t seen the championship form of Lewis yet because he hasn’t been in the championship [fight] since the end of 2021, which we know what happened then.

“Max Verstappen is bang in form and I think that is the third part of their secret weapon that should make them nigh on unbeatable.”