Christian Horner described the sporting penalty handed to Red Bull for breaching Formula 1 cost cap rules as "draconian".
The FIA announced on Friday afternoon that the team would be fined £6m and lose 10% of its aerodynamic testing time over the next 12 months for breaking the rules. Red Bull held a press conference a few hours later where Horner spoke in depth about the issue.
After opening with a timeline of the whole process, which has taken several weeks to reach a conclusion from the initial accusation, Horner told media including Mirror Sport that he felt the penalty handed out will have a huge impact on the team.
"We've been provided a significant penalty, both financially and sporting," said Horner. "The seven million dollars is an enormous amount of money, that is payable within a 30 day period.
"The more draconian part is the sporting penalty, which is a 10% reduction in our ability to utilise our wind tunnel and aerodynamic tools. I've heard people reporting today that it's an insignificant amount.
"Let me tell you now, that is an enormous amount. That represents anywhere between a quarter and half a second's worth of lap time. That comes in from now, and it has a direct effect on next year's car. It will be in place for a 12-month period.
"By winning the constructors' championship, we become victims of our own success by – in addition to that 10% – having a 5% incremental handicap compared to the second and third placed-teams.
"For clarity, we will have 15% less wind tunnel time than the second-placed team in the constructors' championship, and 20% less than the third-placed team. Again, that is a draconian amount. That 10% will have an impact on our ability to perform on track next year."
Asked why Red Bull had accepted the penalty handed out by the FIA if they feel it is a harsh one, Horner added that he felt the benefits of bringing a swift resolution to the issue would outweigh the costs. "We accept that these regulations are immature, we accept there are interpretations, and we accept that this FIA administration has inherited these regulations," he added.
"Had we dragged it out through the administration process to go to appeal, that could have taken months. Beyond that, the international court of appeal could have taken further months. So we could have been looking at a 12-month period to have this closed.
"The amount of speculation and commenting and sniping that has been going on in the paddock, we felt it was in everybody's interests – in our interests, the FIA's, Formula 1's – to close the book here and today. We accept the penalties, begrudgingly, but we accept them."
