Red Bull boss Christian Horner has promised the team will conduct “late nights” over the autumn break as it strives to solve the problems with its 2024 Formula 1 car.
Max Verstappen exceeded Red Bull’s pre-weekend estimation in Singapore last weekend to wrestle his RB20 car to second as Sergio Perez struggled to 10th position.
The Dutchman splitting the McLaren drivers marked his first podium in three races amid the recurring balance issues that have hampered Red Bull’s competitiveness.
However, Perez was competitive in Baku and on course to take a podium until a late clash with Carlos Sainz, while Verstappen minimised Red Bull’s loss in Singapore.
But with McLaren now 41 points ahead in the Constructors’ Championship, Horner has stressed Red Bull will be putting in relentless hours across the three-week gap.
I think we’ve got a vein of development, and I think we’ve understood some of [the] issues with the car,” Horner told media including Motorsport Week.
“I think we’re starting to address them. You know, we were better in Baku, we were better here. So, yeah, there’ll be a lot of late nights in Milton Keynes.”
Horner is convinced that Red Bull has the minerals to overturn McLaren’s margin, though he is cautious about whether its uptick will translate to conventional circuits.
“I would hope so,” he replied when asked about Red Bull’s recent improvement being maintained on traditional race tracks like the Circuit of the Americas.
“I mean, look, McLaren is the benchmark car at the moment, and we have a bit to catch up, but, you know, we’ve got the people and the capability to do that.”
Red Bull has rediscovered a ‘direction’ with the RB20
Horner believes the tweaked floor that Red Bull introduced in Azerbaijan has provided an initial positive step towards reinstalling confidence in the drivers in the RB20.
“I think it’s good that the drivers are feeling the difference,” he said. “I think we found a direction, and, of course, that then opens up how you develop the car from here.”
Red Bull is planning to deliver more upgrades once the season resumes in Austin, but Horner has admitted it must pour over the data before committing to new parts.
“It probably hasn’t been finalised yet,” he said in regard to potential developments in the pipeline.
“There’s a lot of information that are coming out of these events that will influence, you know, what’s going on the car in Austin.
“So we got a lot of useful information out of the last two races, but they’re very, very different venues to the sweeping curves of Austin, Mexico.
“Brazil is a different one again. So it’d be interesting how much coordination.”
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