Red Bull aero upgrade in Hungary not significant - Horner

40

Daniel Ricciardo has qualified Red Bull's upcoming aero upgrade as "significant", but team boss Christian Horner has downplayed the update.

At Silverstone, despite a scintillating drive through the field by Ricciardo, Red Bull visibly struggled for performance compared to its front-running rivals.

After the race, the Aussie pinned his hopes for improvement on an aerodynamic update scheduled for introduction at Budapest next week, but Horner is taking down those ambitions a notch.

"It is all part of the evolution," he said.

"I wouldn't call it significant. I would say it is again relatively subtle in terms of a constant process of trying to get performance on the car."

Red Bull Racing headed into the British Grand Prix on the back of an encouraging performance in Austria a week before, where Ricciardo finished hot the heels of Mercedes Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

F1i's Driver Ratings for the British GP

But the Aussie and his team mate Max Verstappen could not follow their rivals' pace at Silverstone, and Horner has vowed to investigate the reasons why.

"I think we felt that we were a bit off," said Horner.

"I am not sure we got the most out of the car this weekend. We struggled a little bit in the low speed corners, so there is quite a bit to go and understand, analysis wise, why that is."

Horner also suggested that F1's new-spec cars only increased Silverstone's power-circuit nature, a fact which did not suit the team's Renault-powered RB13

"Silverstone now, with this new generation of cars, is again 70 percent full throttle for a percentage of the lap. And again, that is quite painful in comparison to our rivals," Horner concluded.

GALLERY: F1 drivers' wives and girlfriends

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.