Red Bull Racing F1 team principal Christian Horner says after a dominant weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, “I have to thank Toto Vorg for giving me the technical directive!” He mocked the team principal of Mercedes F1.
The FIA (International Automobile Federation) issued a technical directive at the F1 Belgian GP to reduce the porpashing/bouncing that affected the new generation F1 machine reborn as a ground effect car. The plank and skid wear under the F1 car was closely examined, and vertical vibration was also limited.
The Mercedes F1 team, the team most affected by the bounce problem this season, has been a strong supporter of the introduction of porpassing measures, with many believing that its application would slow the pace of Red Bull’s RB18 somewhat.
But Max Verstappen’s dominating performance at Spa-Francorchamps proved that F1’s latest technical directives have so far had no effect on the incredible efficiency of Red Bull’s cars.
Red Bull Racing F1 team principal Christian Horner has admitted that Spa-Francorchamps’ layout “played to our strengths”.
“At first glance, I have to thank Toto for issuing the technical directive!” commented sarcastically to Christian Horner after Max Verstappen’s dominating performance.
“Seriously, I think this circuit played to our strengths. We have a very efficient car and we found a very good set-up. Max did an amazing first lap in the first practice. I was in a bad state.”
“Of course, like everyone else, we strategically chose to take the penalty here and 14th, 13th to be exact, was the starting point.”
“But of course Max still had to break away from the pack and he did it very efficiently in the first few laps and he got to the front much quicker than we expected. The soft tires seemed to work for him in that stint.”
“After that, Max and Czech’s pace was good enough and he overtook Carlos to take home one of the team’s most dominant performances since 2010 or 2013.”
Christian Horner insists F1’s latest technical directives and floor rules have not forced Red Bull to change its setup approach at Spa-Francorchamps.
“A lot was done and a lot was expected of that technical directive, which probably hurt others more than it hurt itself.”
“Actually, we haven’t changed the way we operate the car.”
“Of course, because of Eau Rouge, grounding has always been a problem here, but it’s not just our problem, it’s the same with any team.”
Category: F1 / red bull / mercedes