It could also hail the start of a new era of domination for Red Bull, given the dominance the team has shown this season. In the early years after taking over the Jaguar F1 team in 2005, many people in the paddock struggled to take Red Bull seriously. Red Bull eventually found that in Honda last year, but the Japanese manufacturer's withdrawal from F1 at the end of the season convinced Mateschitz to take matters into his own hands and allow Red Bull to embark on a hugely ambitious project to build its own powertrains from 2026 onwards. Red Bull maintains it did not intend to exceed the cap and is disputing the way the FIA's audit has accounted for certain items. Even without an aerodynamic testing sanction for Red Bull as a result of the cost cap investigation, Mercedes will still have more wind tunnel time and CFD capability than Red Bull next year due to the way the regulations are structured.
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