Horner responds firmly: 'Nothing to do with the technical directive'

Team boss Christian Horner has responded after Red Bull Racing experienced their worst day of the 2023 Formula 1 season. Their 100% winning record in 2023 now seems heavily in doubt as both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez failed to reach Q3. Horner denies that the pace delta was down to the technical directive introduced this weekend.

A Red Bull Racing car wasn't in Q3 for the first time since September 2018. Horner spoke to Sky Sports after the race and admitted his confusion at the sudden drop off in pace.

"It's very confusing to have dropped the amount of pace we have. The car is not responding to changes. Understeer, oversteer, braking issues. We haven't managed to get the tyre into the working window. When you see a gap that big, it's because the tyre isn't working. We've tried different things with set-up and preparations, but it's just not happened. A lot to understand tonight and to try and turn around," Horner explained.

Red Bull were challenged by Ferrari in Monza, but Verstappen ensured he got the record for the most consecutive wins in Formula 1 history. The Dutchman will have to pull a miracle to win again this weekend. Horner claims the car is identical to the RB19 which ran in recent weeks. This is despite TD018, a newly introduced technical directive by the FIA to limit the front and rear wing flexibility.

"The car we have here for qualifying is essentially the identical car to what we had two weeks ago in Monza and Zandvoort. No, [nothing to do with the technical directive], nothing has changed on the car. It’s a tried and tested set-up. It just hasn’t responded on this circuit, on this asphalt. We have an amazing team. We wouldn't have won every single Grand Prix without that. We'll get on top of these issues. We haven't written this weekend off yet," Horner said.