レッドブルへの処分は不十分、ライバルが不満あらわ　Ｆ１

【メキシコ市ＡＦＰ＝時事】フォーミュラワン（Ｆ１、Ｆ１世界選手権）に参戦するレッドブルが、予算制限違反で罰金と空力テスト制限の処分を科されたことについて、ライバルチームは２９日、処分の影響は「非常に限定的」で、抑止力として働く可能性は低いと主張した。（写真はレッドブルのクリスチャン・ホーナー代表）
　レッドブルは２０２１年に１億４５００万ドル（約２１４億円）の年間予算制限を超過したため、国際自動車連盟（ＦＩＡ）から罰金７００万ドル（約１０億円）と空力テスト１０パーセント削減の処分を科された。
　この処分について、レッドブルのクリスチャン・ホーナー代表は、「甚大」で「過酷」な制裁だと話しているが、一部のライバルチームはこの表現をあざ笑い、フェラーリ、メルセデスＡＭＧ、マクラーレンを中心に処分内容への不満をあらわにしている。
　マクラーレンのアンドレアス・ザイドル代表は、処分内容に幻滅してホーナー代表の言葉に耳を貸す気にならなかったと話し、「マイナス面として明らかなのは、私から見て、罰則が違反に見合っていないということだ。今後はもっと厳しい罰則を科せるようになることを希望する」とコメントした。
　フェラーリのレーシングディレクターを務めるローラン・メキエス氏も同じ印象を口にし、伊スカイ・スポーツに対して「われわれフェラーリは、彼らの違反額には１０分の数秒の価値があると考えている。そう考えれば、こうした数字がレース結果、場合によっては選手権に実際に影響するものだということは簡単に理解できる」と話した。
　「まず、１０パーセントのテスト削減がそれだけのラップタイムに相当するとは思えない。それに別の問題もある。予算上限の削減が処分に含まれていない以上、彼らは別の部分に資金を使おうとするだろう」
　ホーナー代表は、今回の処分でチームは１周あたり０．５秒を失う可能性もあると主張するが、メルセデスでエンジニアを務めるアンドリュー・ショブリン氏はこれを否定し、「最大で１０分の２秒というのが、より現実的な数字だろう」とコメント。「（風洞テストの）回数を減らせば、コンセプト開発の自由は確かに制限されるが、われわれは、すでにかなり研究されたレギュレーションで戦っている」と見解を示した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/10/31-15:14）

Red Bull?s rivals insisted on Saturday that the punishment meted out for their breach of Formula One?s $145 million cost cap last year was very limited and unlikely to act as a deterrent.
Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren led the way, making clear their unhappiness with the outcome of the saga after the sport's governing body the FIA had fined Red Bull $7 million and given them a 10 percent cut in permitted aerodynamic testing.
Red Bull team chief Christian Horner said on Friday the sanctions were enormous and draconian, descriptions that were derided by some in the paddock at the Mexico Grand Prix.
Ferrari racing director Laurent Mekies said the Italian team felt the punishment did not fit the crime.
McLaren team chief Andreas Seidl said he was so disillusioned by the outcome that he did not bother listening to Horner's reaction.
I didn?t listen to it because I can imagine it was another fairytale,? said Seidl. I?m not really interested in that.
In the end, on a positive side, I think it?s good to see the FIA did a good job in terms of doing the audit. Nine teams got it right and it was clear one team was in breach, so that?s a positive outcome.
But on a negative side, it?s also clear, from my point of view, that the penalty doesn?t fit the breach. I just hope moving forward we have stricter penalties in place.
In an interview with Sky Sports Italia, Mekies said: ?We have talked a lot in recent weeks about what one can do with half a million (dollars) more or a million or two or three.
Two million is a significant amount and we have given our opinion several times on this topic. We at Ferrari think that this amount is worth around a couple of tenths -- so it's easy to understand that these figures can have a real impact on the outcome of the races and maybe even a championship.
As for the penalty, we are not happy with it, for two important reasons. The first is that we at Ferrari do not understand how the 10 percent reduction can correspond to the same amount of lap time.
Furthermore, there is another problem in that, since there is no budget cap reduction in the penalty, the basic effect is to push the competitor to spend the money elsewhere.
It has total freedom to use the money it can no longer spend on use of the wind tunnel due to the 10 percent reduction, on reducing the weight of the car or who knows what else.?
Horner claimed on Friday that Red Bull would lose up to half a second in lap time next year as a result of the penalties, but this was dismissed by Mercedes' Shovlin.
Maybe two-tenths at the upper end is more realistic, said Shovlin. Reducing the number of runs (in a wind tunnel) does limit your freedom in developing a concept, but we?re in reasonably well-explored regulations now.
You definitely need to be more efficient, but if it were half a second, which I?d heard mentioned, then a team at the back of the grid would have over a three-second advantage to one at the front and that simply isn?t the case.
Formula One boss Stefano Domenicali defended the punishment, in an interview with AFP. The FIA took a decision, technical in nature, that we must respect and now we have to look at what can be done to improve the system, he said.