Red Bull News: Christian Horner Warns Of 'Convergence' As Team Aims For Early Lead

Alex Harrington | Apr 7, 2024

Christian Horner, Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, speaks at the Red Bull Fan Zone, a / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA

Following a commanding one-two finish at the Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has highlighted the importance of securing early points in the season, given the increasing competitiveness of the field. The team's performance in Japan, Horner suggests, is a strong start but comes with the warning of an ever-converging field behind drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

Key Takeaways:

• Red Bull secures a one-two finish at the Japanese Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen taking the win followed by teammate Sergio Perez, indicating a strong performance for the team at Honda's home race.
• Christian Horner, speaking to Sky Sports F1, emphasised the observable 'convergence' among the teams this season, attributed to stable regulations, suggesting tighter competition as the season progresses.
• Horner stresses the importance of accumulating points early in the season, especially as the field becomes more competitive, ahead of the first Sprint weekend of the year in China.

At the heart of the action-packed Japanese Grand Prix, where drama unfolded from the very first lap, Red Bull emerged victorious, showcasing the depth of not only their drivers' performance but the sheer dominance of their potent RB20. Max Verstappen's triumph, alongside Sergio Perez's strong second-place finish, has maintained their strong start to the season made ever more meaningful on Honda's home circuit.

"It's great to bounce back with a one-two finish in Japan, Honda's homeland. A great performance, a great drive from Max, also Checo again putting in a strong performance," Horner beamed, his pride in the team's achievement palpable.

The race itself was not without its share of drama, beginning with a collision on the first lap that saw Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo crash out. But it's the idea of fierce competition that Horner is worried about, with him expecting convergence later in the season.

"You can see there is definitely convergence and that's entirely normal when you have stable regulations. I'm sure that's only going to converge as the season goes on, so important to get points on the board early and now we head to China for the first Sprint weekend of the year."

Horner isn't wrong. The majority of the teams are learning from what they're seeing from the Milton Keynes squad. Aston Martin is arguably the closest in design to the RB19 and RB20, and other teams are following closely, resulting in a much closer grid. This is the reason behind the interesting design of the RB20. Red Bull had to make an educated, but risky jump in their design to fend off the likes of Aston Martin who are getting ever closer, allowing them to have a higher performance ceiling. And it looks like it's worked, at least, for now.