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Horner Defends RB19 20 Strategy Against Perez

Horner Responds to Perez’s Criticism on the Development of the RB19 and RB20

30/09/2024

Christian Horner has defended Red Bull’s F1 strategy, countering Sergio Perez’s criticisms regarding the RB19 and RB20 development.

According to revelations from Sergio Perez, some engineers apologized for not listening to him about the issues with the RB20, but Christian Horner had not followed up since Max Verstappen was still dominating.

Red Bull’s problems caught up with the Dutch driver, and Perez stated in Singapore that these engineers “came to me after Monza and apologized because now everyone is aware of the issues.”

Horner was asked if he felt responsible for not listening more to the Mexican as Red Bull is now in a challenging situation.

“As I said, if we really delve into the data, we can see hints from Barcelona last year. The problem is that Max’s talent is so great that he can mask some issues, especially at the entry of corners, and that’s where Checo really struggled compared to his teammate.”

“When downforce was lost on our F1s at Monza, both had identical problems, and it really highlighted the key issues in the car.”

“So, obviously, Checo is more sensitive. But you know, I think if we can give them both a better car, they will both be in a better position.”

However, asked about the fact that Red Bull did not listen to Perez’s previous complaints until Verstappen had the same problem, regarding the Mexican driver’s value to the team, Horner said: “Well, this business is driven by the stopwatch.”

“So, of course, Max was still dominating last year and wasn’t talking about the same issues as Checo.”

“Of course, it’s the driver who gives you the most feedback. You have a lot of sensors on the car, but it’s the driver’s feel that allows you to tune the car. And when a car behaves as it did, that’s what drives development. Before that, there was no reason to go in a different direction.”

Horner Defends RB19 20 Strategy Against Perez

Horner Defends RB19/20 Strategy Against Perez Horner Defends RB19/20 Strategy Against Perez

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