Despite having become a secondary issue because it is no longer topical. In fact, Red Bull has no intention of debuting the lighter RB18 chassis this season, but it could be put into use early next year.
The Milton Keynes outfit launched the project in late spring, when the threat from Ferrari was still very real, and Adrian Newey worked on a lighter version of the chassis because the RB18 was one of the most overweight cars in the series. grill.
To obtain FIA homologation, it was necessary to carry out the famous crash tests, which were completed in July, before the summer holidays. For this reason, the International Federation awarded the 2022 “stamp” to the Austrian team, which had planned to build three new chassis (one for each driver, plus another spare).
So far, the reasoning at Milton Keynes was clear: a budget within the cost cap was allocated for that upgrade, with the Christian Horner -led team taking cover to react to Ferrari had it been able to counter Max Verstappen’s pace.
Instead, the reality has been very different and the Maranello team has been diluted with the passing of the races, with driver and strategy errors that have ended up being very expensive for the Scuderia , and what seemed to be a priority for Red Bull faded into the background.
The championship has taken a 180-degree turn and the Dutchman has the biggest difference in Formula 1 history (116 points ahead of Charles Leclerc), which made the Austrian team rethink its idea of using the new lightweight chassis in Singapore or what will finally happen, leave it in the bedroom.
Red Bull , meanwhile, first denied the existence of a new, lighter chassis, then admitted that they were not going to use it this season. Is the problem solved? Not much less.
There is one question the FIA is called upon to resolve: they can store that chassis in Milton Keynes and use it in 2023, but do the design, engineering and build costs count for 2022?
As Jo Bauer ‘s technical stewards have already approved this solution, they know of the existence of this chassis, so how should the costs involved be accounted for? Logically, it should be discounted from the 2022 budget cap, otherwise they run the risk that next season’s budget will also be affected and open up the possibility of some “tricks” for the future.
