How Christian Horner looked in the F1 paddock after Red Bull Monza disaster

Follow us on Google Discover

It is no secret that Red Bull is now facing a race to fix their problems after suffering another defeat at the Italian Grand Prix.

Although Max Verstappen still leads the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship by 62 points, McLaren now trails Red Bull by just eight points in the Constructors’ Championship.

A senior member of the Red Bull team allegedly told someone at McLaren that they are now focusing on defending Verstappen’s crown, having resigned to the fact that the Woking squad have produced a faster car in the second half of 2024.

Red Bull looked shakey all weekend at Monza after both Verstappen and Sergio Perez struggled to find any pace on Friday. Martin Brundle remarked that the RB20 looked ‘unusual’ and was not ‘on rails’ as it normally is with the Dutchman at the wheel.

Qualifying was not much better for Red Bull when Verstappen failed to improve his lap on a new set of tyres, causing him to line up sixth on the grid after losing over half a second to pole man Lando Norris. Journalist Tom Clarkson recalled the expression on team principal Christian Horner’s face when speaking on the F1 Nation podcast.

Christian Horner looked ‘very concerning’ after Monza qualifying

Horner conceded after qualifying that he felt Red Bull was now the fourth-quickest car, believing they are now facing an ‘engineering problem’ and must come up with an engineering solution.

When Clarkson saw him in the F1 paddock, Horner was casting a downbeat figure and looked visibly concerned about the situation unfolding at Red Bull.

“It’s worrying times at Red Bull, absolutely no doubt,” said Clarkson.

“I thought Christian Horner after qualifying, look, I thought very concerned because I think they were lost. They didn’t know why the car is not quick over one lap.”

Red Bull facing ‘brain drain’ after Adrian Newey exit

Red Bull has always been the team that many regarded as having cracked the current ground-effect era cars due to their dominance in 2023 and through parts of 2022.

The RB19 could finish miles ahead of the competition without showing any weaknesses, but in a bid to stay ahead of rivals this year, Red Bull switched car concept to a more aggressive approach.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Initially it looked to work, but it was before rivals McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes fitted upgrades to their cars in the first few races. Now the true extent of their performance gains are on show and Red Bull is having to play catch up.

What makes things worse is the exit of Adrian Newey, who would often help the team figure out problems during race weekends. Nico Rosberg believes this has led to a ‘brain drain’ at Red Bull, as they figure out how to get themselves out of this negative spiral.