The Australian Grand Prix, won by the Spanish Carlos Sainz Jr.ended up becoming a nightmare for the Red Bull team that after a couple of spectacular demonstrations in the first two races this weekend was left off the podium, a situation for which the team director, Christian Horner, did not hesitate. in offering his apologies.
He did it with the Mexican Sergio “Checo” Pérezwho came in fifth place while his teammate, the three-time F1 world champion, Max Verstappen, atypically had to abandon the race due to a mechanical problem, ending his string of nine consecutive victories.
“Nothing really worked”Christian Horner told “Checo” Pérez on the radio at the end of the race, third of the 2024 season. “We were just dying at every stin”added the director of the Austrian team that was left without first place for the first time since September 2023 in the Singapore Grand Prix that Sainz Jr also won.
The Red Bull director continued his apology with Sergio “Checo” Pérez who dropped to third place in the drivers’ classification, leaving him with 46 points after being surpassed by Charles Leclerc, also from Ferrari, who achieved second place in Australia, who reached 47. The Monegasque had also finished third in the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia.
“It wasn’t our best race, ‘Checo’. We have taken many lessons from today. I’m so sorry”added Christian Horner, who continues to be the target of controversy due to the accusation made against him by a Red Bull employee for alleged misconduct, which ended up being dismissed by the energy drink team.
After the race, the Briton explained what happened with the RB20 driven by the Mexican driver who had been achieving good performances in the first two tests of the season, achieving second place in both tests, but this Sunday at dawn he did not performed as expected in Melbourne.
“We went long in the first stint (of ‘Checo’). His actual pace as he approached Alonso on the hard tire was strong and matched that of the leaders. “Then literally passing Fernando, he picked up a disposable visor under the floor and lodged in an area that caused a significant load loss.”explained the Red Bull boss.
“So literally, when you passed Fernando, the car didn’t perform as it should and then you start to see tire degradation and again at the end of the second stint, which is unusual for our cars.”concluded Horner, who sets his sights on what will be the next test of the season, in two weeks at the Japanese Grand Prix.
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