Red Bull DESPERATION made clear by aggressive new Horner strategy
Red Bull DESPERATION made clear by aggressive new Horner strategy
Without a win in eight races, watching the erosion of their championship lead week by week, and seemingly unable to fix their problems, Red Bull are facing a Formula 1 challenge which seemed impossible in the early stages of the season.
The Milton Keynes-based squad have arguably been the fourth-fastest team on the grid for months, aiming merely to limit the damage done to their chances in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships by Lando Norris and his McLaren team.
F1 HEADLINES: Red Bull announce Perez release as F1 star RESIGNS
READ MORE: Verstappen set for MAJOR FIA penalty
But they have now already been surpassed by the papaya squad in the race for the team title, and triple world champion Max Verstappen has been able to finish ahead of Norris in only one of the past six grands prix.
Red Bull’s problems appear to stem from a faulty development path – the RB20’s performance has wilted while those of rivals has improved significantly, with a particular weakness in the floor leading to a return to previous versions. Despite the deficit being clear for months, there has been little sign so far of Red Bull being able to propel themselves back into the fight for grand prix victories.
Unable to push the car back to the dominant position it enjoyed for the first seven weekends of the campaign by technical means, Red Bull appear to have settled on a different, perhaps more desperate short-term strategy to try and drag themselves and Verstappen to the drivers’ title.
Team principal Christian Horner is at the forefront of it, using a more aggressive approach to media engagements focused on attempts to unsettle rivals.
READ MORE: Red Bull chief confirms Ricciardo target for F1 comeback chance
What has Christian Horner been saying?
Horner has always been a combative character in the paddock, but has had a tendency to focus on his own team for the past few years, aided no doubt by their almost pristine dominance across the majority of race weekends since F1 entered its latest regulation era in 2022.
But in the past few weeks, as McLaren have stormed into the lead of the constructors’ championship, and Ferrari and Mercedes have become more regular contenders for wins, Horner - unable to turn around his own squad’s fortunes - has instead sought to disrupt others.
First, he aimed to sow discontent at McLaren by suggesting that the team has always had a clear one-two driver structure which it has kept hidden from Oscar Piastri, and the Australian’s strong performances are serving as a hindrance.
"Lando Norris, they're paying five times what they pay Oscar, so I would assume he would be their No 1 driver, or their biggest asset," Horner said. "I think the other one is causing them headaches because [Piastri] is winning races.
"When the second driver starts outperforming the first driver, that's when you tend to have a headache."
Given that Verstappen retains a 52-point advantage over Norris largely because McLaren failed to sacrifice Piastri’s results in favour over Norris’ early enough in the season, Horner’s argument is flawed. And as a clearly competent leadership figure who has been in the paddock for two decades, he knows that full well.
READ MORE: Newey's JAW-DROPPING Aston Martin contract details 'revealed'
What is the logic behind Christian Horner’s strategy?
The comments are merely an attempt to rile up tensions between Piastri, Norris and the team. As were Horner’s comments about the possibility of signing Mercedes’ George Russell in future.
"Russell is out of contract at the end of next year - it would be foolish not to take that into consideration," Horner said in Singapore. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff responded by saying the claim was merely evidence that Horner was "trying to stir s*** up".
Again, Horner gains precious little from touting his team’s chances of signing a rival’s driver in public. But what he may be hoping to do is give Russell and his agents something to raise in negotiations, which potentially makes the agreement of a new deal slightly more complicated.
A desperate, aggressive strategy this all may be, but when nothing out on track is going in their favour, why not give creating disturbances in those around you a go? This kind of thing goes on in every elite sport, from managers’ press conferences in football to tennis coaches bellowing out the rival player’s weaknesses between points.
What it does suggest, though, is that Red Bull have decreasing confidence in their own ability to stem the tide in the final six races of the season. The momentum is all with McLaren, with Norris, and the best defence Red Bull have is what Wolff accurately labels "s*** stirring".
The history books may show that F1 championships are won through speed, top-tier technical development and solid strategy, but rest assured that 's*** stirring' has played a part in plenty of the sport’s most memorable triumphs too.
Now Red Bull and Horner are hedging their bets that it can do so again.
READ MORE: Hamilton reveals long term health concerns
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Red Bull confirm change for MAJOR cause ahead of triple-header
- 1 hour ago
Red Bull DESPERATION made clear by aggressive new Horner strategy
- 2 hours ago
- 1
Hamilton reveals team-mate issues in ‘ruthless’ admission
- 3 hours ago
F1 News Today: Red Bull announce Perez release as F1 star RESIGNS
- Today 11:10
Verstappen set for MAJOR FIA penalty
- Today 10:56
Aston Martin announce ‘RECORD-BREAKING’ new signing
- Today 09:57
F1 Race Calendar 2024
-
GP CHINA
19 - 21 Apr
Max Verstappen
-
GP USA
3 - 5 May
Lando Norris
-
GP ITALY
17 - 19 May
Max Verstappen
-
GP MONACO
24 - 26 May
Charles Leclerc
-
GP CANADA
7 - 9 Jun
Max Verstappen
-
GP SPAIN
21 - 23 Jun
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRIA
28 - 30 Jun
George Russell
-
GP GREAT BRITAIN
5 - 7 Jul
Lewis Hamilton
-
GP HUNGARY
19 - 21 Jul
Oscar Piastri
-
GP BELGIUM
26 - 28 Jul
Lewis Hamilton
-
GP NETHERLANDS
23 - 25 Aug
Lando Norris
-
GP ITALY
30 Aug - 1 Sep
Charles Leclerc
-
GP AZERBAIJAN
13 - 15 Sep
Oscar Piastri
-
GP SINGAPORE
20 - 22 Sep
Lando Norris
- GP USA 18 - 20 Oct
- GP MEXICO 25 - 27 Oct
- GP BRAZIL 1 - 3 Nov
- GP USA 22 - 24 Nov
- GP QATAR 29 Nov - 1 Dec
Related news
Controversial Verstappen driver swap breeds Red Bull frustration
Horner reveals talks over Ricciardo and Perez switch
Red Bull star receives F1 promotion following driver swap
Jos Verstappen takes aim at Horner over ‘STUPID’ Red Bull team-mate suggestion
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Franco Alejandro Colapinto
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Oliver Bearman
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- AWS Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860