23/08/2022
NEWS STORY
A report in the German media claims that Red Bull is in the process of building a new, lighter chassis in time for the second half of the season.
Other than the infamous issue of bouncing, another concern over the first half of the season has been weight, with teams struggling to get down to the limit.
In Hungary it was estimated that while the likes of Alpine are just 2kg over the limit and McLaren 3kg, Red Bull is as much as 7kg over and Mercedes 8kg.
With 9 rounds remaining, and the Sprint in Brazil, Red Bull enjoys a 97 point lead over Ferrari, however with Mercedes another 30 points behind, and having scored double podium finishes at the last two races, the championship is far from decided, especially if the German team benefits from the technical directive to be introduced next weekend at Spa when the season resumes.
With this is mind, the respected Auto Motor und Sport is reporting that Red Bull is in the process of building a new lighter chassis for the second half of the season.
This would require the new chassis needing to undergo the FIA's mandatory crash test and as a result would require the Austrian team building three new cars in total.
While it is understood that this could be worth two to three tenths of a second, the big question is how this would affect the team in terms of the budget cap especially as Red Bull has been one of the loudest voices in calling for the cap to be increased.
Though the FIA has granted teams a 3.1% increase in the cap due to inflation, it is difficult to see how Red Bull might remain within the limit.
Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Auto Motor und Sport claims that Red Bull isn't alone in taking the step of building a new chassis, though it says the second teams isn't Mercedes.