Horner Compares Verstappen To Schumacher Amid Red Bull Data Correlation Problems

Tuesday, 01 October 2024 at 18:00

Christian Horner suggested Max Verstappen reminded him of Michael Schumacher with the ability to drive around the problems of his F1 car.

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner recently confirmed that his team made a mistake with the upgrade at the tenth round of the 2024 season in Barcelona.

Max Verstappen's results confirm Horner's theory. The Dutchman's last victory came exactly in Spain. Since then, eight Grand Prix weekends have passed, and he hasn't managed to add a single win.

This upgrade likely also led to correlation problems between the simulator and on-track data, which the Austrian team has struggled with lately.

Perhaps one of Red Bull's worst weekends in 2024 so far was the Italian Grand Prix. Christian Horner commented on it during his appearance on F1 Nation Podcast:

"Track and simulation data in Monza were miles off, highlighting RB20's front and rear axles disconnection. We've seen some aerodynamic issues that when you really peel the layers of the onion, they actually go back to 2023."

Max Verstappen coming out of the 'Della Roggia' chicane at Monza Circuit, followed by Lando Norris in a McLaren during the 2024 Italian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix

"When you took the downforce off the car, it highlighted the disconnection between the front and rear axles, and the numbers we were expecting to see on track were just miles out from where our simulation tools were."

Max Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez, has struggled more with the upgrade, and he hasn't finished in the top five for 12 race weekends in a row.

However, Horner doesn't blame the Mexican driver. Instead, he pointed out how incredible Verstappen is to be able to drive around his car's problems. He compared the Dutchman to Michael Schumacher:

"Max, due to his uncanny ability to drive around problems, has been able to deal with it, whereas it affected Checo much more."

"Almost to the point where a little like the Benetton the sort of the early 90s where Michael [Schumacher] could drive that car, but whoever else got in it seemed to really struggle with it."