Eddie Jordan Launches Christian Horner Criticism Amid 'Catastrophic' Red Bull Situation

Chris Ladd | Sep 7, 2024

Christian Horner, Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, speaks at the Red Bull Fan Zone, a private event at Oracle headquarters, on Wednesday October 18, 2023. / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Eddie Jordan, speaking on the Formula For Success podcast with David Coulthard and Mark Webber, raised concerns about Red Bull's declining performance.

Despite a strong start to the season, Red Bull’s Constructors' Championship lead has shrunk to just eight points, as McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have consistently challenged Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Furthermore, Ferrari and Mercedes have recently outperformed Red Bull, who have not won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in June.

Jordan noted that Red Bull's current situation is dire as reported by Planetf1.com, labeling it as "catastrophic" and urging Christian Horner to take decisive action by gathering the engineers to identify where the car's performance has deteriorated. He argued that the team's upgrades have not been effective and that the focus should return to the earlier setups that delivered race-winning performance.

“What’s the first thing you would do? You’d say, ‘Okay, guys, now enough of the crap’,” Jordan said.

“We need to see facts, right, ‘All you engineers, come into the boardroom, we’re going to have a heart-to-heart here, exactly where we are’.

“‘What was the setup that we had at the beginning of the season? What was the setup when we were winning races by 15 seconds and this and that and the other, and we were cruising?’

“‘What has changed? Show me the upgrades, because, sure as heaven, those upgrades have not worked. You’re fooling yourself. You’re trying to believe in a wind tunnel that’s obviously giving you a miscalculation’.

“‘Let’s go back to where we were and start from there and make sure nothing gets changed until we can categorically guarantee that it’s quicker’.”

Jordan has urged Christian Horner to adopt a more assertive approach to regain control of Red Bull’s situation, following a mid-season decline in their championship campaign. Jordan expressed that Red Bull’s dominance has slipped, and the team’s once sizeable lead is now threatened by rivals like McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes.

He emphasized that Horner should get "tough" on his staff, demanding a clear analysis of where things have gone wrong, particularly with the car’s upgrades. Jordan believes Red Bull's current performance is far below expectations, especially considering Max Verstappen's talent, and that decisive action is necessary to avoid further setbacks​.

“I’m sorry, but that’s the way I feel about it. It’s now catastrophic,” he said. “Christian Horner has a massive job on his hands because he has to take out the big stick and start cracking it, honestly.

“We were all slagging off Perez, but maybe Perez and that car, that’s the speed of the car, and what Max is doing is what Max is able to do.

“Beyond any doubt, he’s the best driver in Formula 1, beyond any doubt in my opinion, at this moment in time. So therefore, to finish fifth and fourth and sixth, or whatever it is, Jesus, it must be killing them at this stage.”