Horner 'Impressed' By Verstappen's Work With Engineering Team

Wednesday, 04 September 2024 at 10:00

Updated at Wednesday, 04 September 2024 at 12:07

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner revealed the hard work Max Verstappen is now putting in behind the scenes to ensure his F1 team doesn't fail.

Red Bull Racing has lately not been performing up to the standard we've become used to over the last three years. The Austrian team had only the fourth-fastest car during the most recent race (2024 Italian Grand Prix).

With the championship situation super tight, it suddenly seems real that Red Bull might lose both titles this year. Max Verstappen still has a comfortable lead in the Drivers' Championship, but finishing in P6 will not be enough.

The Dutchman is aware of that, and as his F1 team principal, Christian Horner, revealed, he has been doing a lot of work away from the public eye.

"What's really impressed me with Max is how he's really engaged in this process. He's not, he's not panicking. He's working with the engineers. He's explaining very clearly where the issues are."

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"He's putting the time and effort in. He was in early this morning. He was on zoom calls last week and he'll be on the simulator before the next race. He's really working hard at this."

It's stunning how Red Bull won seven of the first ten Grand Prix races and none of the following six. McLaren, Mercedes, and McLaren have all stood on the top step in the meantime. Horner continued:

"And I think he's shown great maturity as a world champion. The way he's working with the engineering team. Nobody likes the situation we're in at the moment."

"Nobody's happy with it. We've got to work really hard to turn it around. But the one thing this team has is strength and, depth and tact. And we'll come back."

With eight Grand Prix weekends to go, Red Bull needs to turn this situation around as fast as possible. What might be a bit concerning for its fans is that Helmut Marko asserted the team probably won't be able to change much before upgrades in Austin.

That means that Red Bull might continue being only the fourth fastest car for the upcoming two races in Azerbaijan and Singapore. Christian Horner added:

"Based on today's performance, you'd say both are under absolute pressure. We were the fourth fastest car today. And as you know, that's the reality. We've got to turn it around if we want to make sure we win both titles."