F1 News: Christian Horner Reveals Red Bull Pressures As Competition Intensifies - 'Flat Out'

Saajan Jogia | Jul 30, 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

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has been under pressure due to the rise of close rival teams in Formula 1, which has made it challenging for his team to secure victories in recent weekends. Horner attributes this to the consistency in regulations, predicting that the intense competition will persist for the next 18 months until the regulations change again.

The current season in no way mirrors the 2023 season, where only one race was won by a non-Red Bull driver, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. This year, though, the grid has tightened to such an extent that Max Verstappen has been unable to secure a Grand Prix victory since the Spanish GP, despite Red Bull getting off to a worthy start in the first few races of the season.

Red Bull's top rivals—McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes—appear to have discovered the secret to unlocking performance in ground-effect cars, a feat that Red Bull had perfected ahead of the 2022 ground-effect era under the guidance of Adrian Newey.

The three rival teams have had both drivers win a race this season, while Verstappen remains Red Bull's lone warrior. Sergio Perez's dip in form has been costly, as he hasn't secured a podium since the Chinese Grand Prix. Verstappen's efforts alone have only taken the team so far, with the points gap between Red Bull and McLaren in the Constructors' Championship now down to just 42 points.

Horner, who previously mentioned that his team was experiencing diminishing returns, attributed the current close racing at the front of the grid to consistent regulations. Speaking to the media, he explained, as quoted by GP Blog:

"I think it's great for the sport, and it was almost inevitable when you get the consistency of regulations, you always get convergence.

"If you look through the history of Formula One, I remember when I first came into Formula One, Ron Dennis banging that drum back in 2005. He had the best car at that time, but convergence has always brought the teams together.

"Between now and then, for the next 18 months, it's going to be flat out between the four teams."

Horner further elaborated that regulation changes, like the upcoming revisions in 2026, are crucial for the sport's evolution when asked about their necessity. He added:

"You can never stand still, and they've made the change for the reasons they feel relevant, so the sport has to keep evolving."