Red Bull Faces ‘Fundamental’ Challenges: Horner Sounds Alarm After Disappointing Italian GP Qualifying

Christian Horner indicates Red Bull faces a 'core' problem following the Italian GP qualifiers

"We are examining all possibilities. Last weekend, we used a previous version to check if it solved the problems in any way."

Christian Horner has acknowledged a fundamental issue affecting Red Bull's performance during the F1 qualifying round at the Italian Grand Prix, leading to their challenges on the track.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez managed to qualify in seventh and eighth positions, respectively, for the upcoming race at Monza on Sunday.

This marks Verstappen's poorest qualifying performance since not breaking into the top 10 at the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.

This extends Red Bull's streak of subpar performances, putting their lead in the F1 constructors' championship at significant risk.

Interestingly, Verstappen managed to achieve his fastest lap during the qualifying rounds in Q2 on previously used tires, which was remarkably four-tenths of a second quicker than the best time he recorded in Q3.

Discussing the challenges faced by Red Bull, Horner explained to Sky Sports, "It's quite complicated. We're at a loss as to how we managed a time of 1 minute and 19.6 seconds on used tires, yet with new tires we couldn't achieve better than a 1 minute and 20 seconds time. The balance is just not right."

Based on his statements, it's evident that a significant issue is occurring which we haven't fully grasped yet. We must figure out why, when using older tyres, we could achieve a certain lap-time, but then with two sets of new tyres, we couldn't come close to matching it.

"In the second quarter, things seemed manageable, with the handling issues Max mentioned still present, but by the third quarter, a noticeable problem emerged. Unlike our competitors who could enhance their performance with new tires, we were significantly behind. It's crucial we figure this out swiftly."

In an effort to resolve their problems, Red Bull switched back to a previous version of their car's floor for the most recent race in Zandvoort.

Nonetheless, for Verstappen, who was using the previous version of the floor, the outcome wasn't significantly different, as he finished more than 22 seconds behind the leader.

Horner mentioned, "We're exploring all options. Last weekend, we tested a previous version to determine if it resolved any of the problems."

"The truth is, we were dealing with the same operational behaviors and problems that we had with the initial model from the start of the year. There was a tremendous amount of information for the team to digest and a great deal to comprehend."

"It's imperative we tackle this issue promptly. It's evident that the McLarens have improved markedly in the recent races. Currently, we're trailing behind both Ferrari and Mercedes. There's a great deal of work ahead. The race points will be determined tomorrow, but with us beginning from the seventh and eighth positions, it's going to be challenging."

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