Red Bull boss Christian Horner insists he is not worried that his team’s determination to stand up for what it believes in often puts it in conflict with its rivals.
As discussions to frame a new Concorde Agreement continue, Red Bull has sometimes found itself alone in disagreeing with rival outfits on where regulations should go.
In particular, Red Bull was a lone voice in believing that a Resource Restriction Agreement should not be policed by the FIA for 2013 if it does not include limits on engine spending.
The team’s standing in the paddock was also made clear when it and sister outfit Scuderia Toro Rosso were not invited to a meeting of team principals on race morning at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Although Red Bull is aware that its stance on key matters is not in line with what other teams feel, Horner says that he is far from concerned about it.
“Our existence is to do the very best we can to try and win grands prix and challenge for world championships,” said Horner.
“Of course we are cost conscious. We don’t have the biggest budget in F1, and you only have to look at the driver retainers that are being bandied about at the moment [to see that].
“So it seems ironic on one hand to be talking about cost reductions when retainers are being discussed at the levels that they are.
“I am entirely comfortable with our position. We are focused on doing the best job we can. We have been very consistent with our position regarding the resource restriction and, if that sits uncomfortably with others, then that is their issue, not ours.”
Red Bull and Toro Rosso’s refusal to approve the FIA policing of the RRA earlier this year meant it could not become part of the 2013 regulations – as unanimous agreement was needed after June.
Horner reckons, however, that it would have been wrong for his outfit to have gone along with others’ consensus because his outfit would have been at a disadvantage compared to rival manufacturer teams.
“Our view has always been that an RRA isn’t an effective way of controlling costs if you only pick on certain elements,” he said. “You have got areas of exclusion, and you have got different corporate entities that operate the ownership of their teams in different ways.
“What we have always said is that we want something transparent and all-encompassing. Certainly the RRA, the chassis RRA as it has been previously discussed, does not achieve that.
“If it were to include the engine it becomes more interesting. But our principal belief is that stability in the rules is the best way to control costs, because we can see stable rules have allowed many teams and independent teams to be competitive in current F1.
“It is therefore our firm belief that stable technical and sporting regulations are the best way of controlling costs as opposed to a resource restriction that does not treat all parties with parity.”
Bill Holland Jackie Holmes Bill Homeier Kazuyoshi Hoshino Jerry Hoyt
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