Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner denies FIA influence, credits car upgrades for catching McLaren at Imola amid 2025 technical directives.
Christian Horner maintains that McLaren F1 did not lose performance at Imola, but that Red Bull caught up with its rival. The team principal from Milton Keynes is pleased to have had a better Sunday, with less tyre degradation.
Red Bull Denial Unmasked
Several technical directives came into effect last week, and the Briton denied that they were prompted by clarification requests from his team. This is untrue, as it is known from reliable sources that Red Bull did indeed make a series of inquiries to the FIA’s technical department.
“There’s another one, I believe, about the floor or the skid blocks that came up,” Horner told Formula 1’s official website regarding the directives, trying to claim that they were not the result of Red Bull’s questioning. “It’s just standard practice.”
Red Bull Gains Ground
He went on to stress that it was Red Bull’s developments that made the difference: “We’ve managed to improve the car’s performance. I don’t think McLaren really lost pace last weekend, it’s more that we found some. That’s very encouraging—not so much for here, but certainly for the tracks coming up.”
Horner then offered his predictions for the hierarchy at the Monaco Grand Prix, believing it will be very close among the top teams, including Ferrari, which he expects to be in a stronger position in the Principality.
Monaco Grid Incredibly Tight
“What we’ve seen this year is that there hasn’t been a front row covered by more than a tenth, so it’s going to be super, super close. And I think there could be some surprises this weekend.”
“Mercedes might be quick. The Ferrari handles the kerbs very well. It’s very stable over the bumps. We know how good Charles [Leclerc] and Lewis [Hamilton] are here, so they could be real factors this weekend.”
Newey’s Green Look Mocked
Finally, when asked about seeing Adrian Newey in Aston Martin green, Horner responded in his uniquely irreverent style: “It looks like a giant bogey! It’s strange seeing him in green, but it’s fine.” Classy…
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