AlphaTauri has traditionally had close ties to Red Bull Racing and the two teams’ cars are very similar, but in preparation for 2023 Faenza decided to limit the number of components they used to get from Milton Keynes.
The difference between Formula 1 and all other championships that use single open-wheel cars is that here each team develops and produces the chassis independently. The rules allow you to buy certain components next to them, but their list is strictly limited and you have to do everything else yourself.
Examples of such collaboration are not limited to the AlphaTauri and Red Bull Racing alliance – Haas F1 works very actively with Ferrari, Aston Martin has developed such a close technological interaction with Mercedes that it has regularly raised questions from rivals in recent years.
According to Auto Motor und Sport, after the transition to tight budgets, teams that used to depend on such collaboration are forced to do the calculations to determine whether it is more profitable for them to develop certain components themselves or continue to buy. .
In accordance with current financial regulations, all costs are taken into account in detail and in the event of high costs for the purchase of authorized components, the budget limit is reduced by an appropriate amount. In some cases, this amount may exceed the costs associated with the development and production of such components in-house.
When the budget of a small team, such as Haas, does not reach the officially allowed limit, there are no particular problems. But when the team’s income rises, the budget gradually grows and approaches the maximum, then you have to calculate exactly which components to keep buying and which ones make sense to make yourself.
AlphaTauri has to solve such a dilemma, and it is not just about the financial aspect.
“Red Bull Racing has a very different workflow,” explains Jonathan Eddolls, chief engineer at AlphaTauri. “They develop and produce new components at a phenomenal pace. But the latest version of this or that improved element may not be suitable for our car.
For example, we are developing an aerodynamic body kit, taking into account some nodes located under the body panels. But when we buy components from Red Bull, we only get technical documentation for it at the very last minute. And this can affect the aerodynamics of the car, because we calculate the shape of the other elements ourselves.
The first year of working with new machines has given us a lot of experience, which means that it is no longer necessary to be flexible in the development of certain parts that reduce the weight of the machine. We’re already doing something different because we’ve studied these cars, this rubber, and we’re much better oriented in the current regulations.”
In the end, in AlphaTauri, in preparation for 2023, they get slightly fewer components from the ‘senior’ team than before. Red Bull Racing does not always understand why Faenza prefers to develop some parts himself than to buy from them.
Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, says that this is partly due to the professional pride of AlphaTauri specialists: “All teams believe that they can win races if they have enough budget, and in some cases they want to prove it. And while they should have realized over the years that this isn’t the case, at least such an endeavor is commendable.
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
