Vasseur says Red Bull cost cap penalty ‘very low’

9:43 AM ET

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur does not think Red Bull’s windtunnel penalty will have a meaningful impact on the team’s Formula One advantage this year.

Red Bull was fined $7 million and lost 10 percent of its aerodynamic testing time after being deemed to have breached the 2021 cost cap.

Windtunnel time is key for car upgrades and development through a season and Red Bull already has the least amount allocated after winning last year’s championship.

The penalty led to speculation the likes of Ferrari might cut into Red Bull’s lead later in the year, but Vasseur said that is unlikely.

“The penalty for me was very low,” Vasseur said in a recent media call. “If you consider that basically we will improve a bit less than a second over the season in terms of aero, you get a penalty of 10 percent of this it’s one-tenth and as it’s not a linear progression it’s probably less.

“You are allowed to spend this money somewhere else, so it means for me the penalty is marginal.”

Red Bull has a comfortable advantage this year and has won all three races so far.

Vasseur added: “If you consider that you have an advantage at the beginning of the season because you spend more the year before, then the compensation…

“I don’t want to say that they didn’t do a good job because I think honestly that they did a very good job on the car. I’m not trying to find an excuse at all. It’s not this. But if you ask me if the penalty is too light, I say yes.”

Mercedes driver George Russell predicted at the start of the year that Red Bull could win all 23 races this year.