Horner counters Newey's ‘inexperience’ call regarding RB20 issues

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has responded to comments made by designer Adrian Newey, who suggested that a lack of experience among Red Bull's engineers may have contributed to the development struggles of the RB20 in 2024.

Red Bull’s RB20 was dominant out of the box last season, with Max Verstappen securing seven wins in the first ten races.

However, a lack of consistency the Red Bull camp thereafter, compounded by McLaren’s sudden progress as highlighted by Lando Norris’ win in Miami, which eventually allowed Team Papaya to overhaul its rival and secure the Constructors’ title.

Verstappen's win in Spain in June was followed by a ten-race winless streak as Red Bull grappled with ‘peaky’ balance issues impacting its RB20.

Newey, who stepped back from his CTO duties in May, recently offered his perspective on Red Bull's struggles in an interview with told Auto Motor und Sport.

“From what I can see from the outside, but I don't know… The guys at Red Bull, this is no criticism, but I think they just – perhaps through lack of experience – kept going in that same direction,” asserted Aston Martin’s future managing technical partner.

Horner, however, has dismissed the notion that inexperience was the key factor. Speaking ahead of the launch of Red Bull’s 2025 contender, the RB21, the Red Bull chief offered a broader perspective on the issues that plagued the team last year.

RB20 Issues ‘More Deep-Rooted’ Than 2024 Season

“I’m not sure I haven’t seen those comments, but I think the issues are more deep-rooted than just last year.”

Rather than chalking up the challenges to a lack of experience, Horner pointed out that the RB20’s difficulties stemmed from characteristics embedded earlier in its development cycle.

He praised the team for their hard work in dissecting the car’s issues and addressing its unpredictability.

“When you really dig into the data and some of the characteristics, you start to see them much earlier than that, certainly during 2023,” he explained.

“It was a matter of unravelling it to understand what were the contributing factors to having a very peaky performance. I think that’s where the team have worked very hard to understand that and address it.”

RB21: A New Chapter or More of the Same?

When pressed about whether the fundamental flaws of the RB20 had been resolved with the new RB21, Horner played his cards close to his chest.

“I’ll tell you next Friday,” he quipped, referring to the upcoming pre-season testing in Bahrain.

“The team have worked very hard over the winter to work on some of the vices of RB20,” he continued.

“I think we’ve had a good winter, and the team has been working incredibly hard. We’ll get the first indication next week as to have we managed to address some of the issues.

“We managed to improve them during the course of the latter third of last year, and we’ll see if we’ve managed to go a step further over these early races.”

Late-Season Resurgence Offers Hope

Red Bull’s performance in the latter stages of 2024 hinted that the team had made significant progress in overcoming the RB20’s quirks.

Verstappen’s remarkable run from 17th to 1st at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, combined with a Sprint victory in Austin, suggested that Red Bull had rediscovered their rhythm.

Further proof came at the Qatar Grand Prix, where overnight simulator work and aggressive setup changes delivered another victory.

These flashes of brilliance underscore the team’s ability to adapt and problem-solve under pressure.

Still, questions remain as to whether Red Bull has successfully carried these lessons into the development of the RB21.

As the Formula 1 world awaits the first laps of the new season, all eyes will be on Bahrain to see if Red Bull can recapture their dominance – this time with a more compliant and consistently competitive car.

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