Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing RB19. 15.09.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 16, Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore, Practice Day.
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner says the side’s troubles in Singapore will provide a “useful lesson” when it comes to assembling its 2024 Formula 1 car.
Heading into the Singapore weekend, Red Bull had dominated the current campaign, winning every race to set a new record for the most consecutive victories in F1 history.
However, the Austrian outfit came unstuck at the Marina Bay Circuit, struggling from the moment the cars hit the track on Friday.
Despite committing to a raft of set-up changes overnight, Red Bull’s situation didn’t improve in time for qualifying, with both drivers lamenting a lack of grip from the RB19 as they were eliminated from Q2.
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez eventually recovered to fifth and eighth respectively, bringing an abrupt end to the reigning champion’s 15-race winning run.
Horner attributes Red Bull’s problems to getting into the wrong window with its car, which he believes will provide some valuable learnings to improve upon with the RB20.
“I don’t think we have struggled that much, we won the race last year,” he considered. “I think that maybe our simulation before the weekend didn’t lead us to the right conclusion and then you have to unravel your way out of that.
“I think we just ended up in the wrong window that exposed some of the weaknesses that the car has, which has actually been a very useful lesson for next year because it gives some very useful insight into some things we can address in RB20.”
Red Bull was bidding to become the first-ever team in F1 to go an entire season undefeated. But, like McLaren in 1988, Ferrari ended the Milton-Keynes squad’s streak.
Asked if he was downbeat Red Bull’s opportunity to do an unprecedented clean sweep, Horner responded: “No because we never expected it. There were still eight races to go. Jesus Christ, you guys have been asking me since pretty much Jeddah.
“To have got through 15 races is beyond our wildest imaginations, for Max to have won 10 in a row is insanity. The last time somebody did that was Sebastian [Vettel] in one of our cars again. So, incredibly proud to have the first and second most-winningest drivers in Formula 1.
“Whilst statistics apparently don’t matter, they’re ones as a team we’re incredibly proud of. To have broken the record since 1988 shows just how hard it is to have achieved the kind of supremacy that we’ve achieved this year. That’s testimony to everyone doing and playing their part.”
He added: “To win 15 in a row is insanity when you consider the variance of circuits we have come across, the conditions etcetera. It’s the first time since 2018, I think, that we weren’t in Q3 yesterday.
“It’s been a hell of a run for the team that we always knew was going to come to a stop at some point and it’s been an incredible year and one that we are all very proud of. Hopefully we can back up at the sharp end next weekend.”
Having dismissed that the FIA’s latest Technical Directive on flexy-floors and wings was responsible for the team’s unexpected slump, Horner asserts Red Bull’s race pace in Singapore was “actually pretty strong.”
The Red Bull team boss is therefore optimistic that the champions-elect will return to a more competitive standing once more at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Questioned on whether Singapore marked a blip in Red Bull’s year, Horner clarified: “I think if you look at the last 18 months, this has probably been one of the trickiest race weekends – well, certainly Saturday. I thought Friday and Saturday, in the race the car was actually pretty strong.
“It’s a completely different layout, a completely different circuit and hopefully we can be competitive in Japan next week.”
Keyword: Horner: Singapore struggles a ‘useful lesson’ for Red Bull 2024 F1 car