Horner is not worried about the FIA’s decisions on the RB8

Of the twelve cars entered in the F1 World Championship, the Red Bull RB8 is certainly the most controversial. Thus, in Monaco, voices, still unknown, have been raised against a hole drilled in the floor of the single-seater designed in Milton Keynes, leading to a clarification of the regulations prohibiting this process. Similarly, the FIA saw fit to seal other holes drilled in Red Bull’s single-seaters, this time at the level of the front wheel hubs. Despite these breaches being filled, Sebastian Vettel still managed to secure pole position this Saturday in Montreal, the 32nd of a still very young career, spent entirely under the sign of the Bull.

Changes that do not worry Christian Horner, director of the Austrian team, interviewed by Autosport: “I think that is part of the sport. Everyone has their opinion, but we are not going to lose sleep over it. The technical clarifications are the same all along the pit lane, they may seem less discussed than those that affect us.”

The Englishman considers that as long as the regulation is open to interpretations, disagreements and challenges are normal: « The nature of F1 is to push boundaries and demonstrate innovation, and that is what we will strive to continue. Charlie [Whiting, the FIA Technical Department Director, editor’s note] is doing a good job weighing the pros and cons, and we have absolutely no complaints about how the FIA has handled the situations surrounding our car this year ».

Horner also emphasizes that, although the regulations are the same for everyone, being at the front of the pack draws attention: « I think it’s the nature of F1 that teams try to extract the maximum from the regulations that are written and can be interpreted differently, but it’s the same for everyone. It’s likely that Caterham had to modify elements of its car at some point, but for whatever reason, they don’t seem to attract as much interest as Red Bull ».

For him, the close-knit nature of the pack contributes to this search for the flaw: « The details are crucial this year. You have to find performance in every part of the car, and this season, with margins so narrow, it ultimately comes down to these details. Today, you can see the top 10 separated by 6/10ths. So it’s still very tight and the gaps are very small. ».

But the boss of Red Bull Racing prefers to conclude by congratulating his team: « Inevitably, at some point, a hierarchy will begin to emerge and different cars will be competitive on different tracks, but I think that the way the Red Bull technical team is working, they’re doing a good job of understanding the new rules. The key word this year seems to be tires, and we’re starting to get a handle on their characteristics ».