Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has hit back at his rivals for making excuses after not being able to match his side’s performances. The Briton’s recent remarks come after his side kickstarted the 2023 campaign in dominant fashion by winning all five races so far.
Reigning Drivers’ Champion Max Verstappen has won three races while his teammate, Sergio Perez, has won the other two. Because of Red Bull’s blistering start to the season, rival teams have called for changes. In particular, they want the DRS zone to be shortened in all the circuits. This is because of the Milton-Keynes-based outfit’s blistering straight-line speed.
Simply… lovely!
What a great win today! A very strong race 🙌
The car felt really good and the strategy paid off perfectly @redbullracing 👏 This is a fantastic 1-2 team result again, let’s keep this going 💪
Thank you, Miami – You have been great🌴 pic.twitter.com/FdTdxeMITR
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) May 7, 2023
On hearing such comments, Horner told the media (as quoted by racingnews365.com), “In my opinion, the DRS was just about fine there (in Baku). Overtaking wasn’t too easy, but there was enough room for the driver to overtake“.
The 49-year-old then concluded his remarks by taking a massive jibe at his rivals. He explained, “A DRS zone will not make a difference when we look at our performance“. Horner is seemingly suggesting that even if the DRS zones were shortened, it would not stop Red Bull and Verstappen from dominating the 2023 season.
Red Bull and Max Verstappen are off to a flyer in the 2023 season
Considering how Red Bull have kickstarted the 2023 season, there is a chance that they might actually go on to win every race of this campaign. This is because barring the Australian GP, Red Bull have had a 1-2 in every other race of the season so far.
As a result of such a strong start to the season, the Austrian outfit has already built a huge advantage in the Constructors’ Championship over their rivals. Red Bull have scored 224 points after the first five races and already have a whopping 122-point lead over second-placed Aston Martin.
A similar scenario is also seen in the Drivers’ Championship, with both Red Bull drivers having a significant advantage over the others. Championship leader Max Verstappen has scored 119 points and has a 14-point lead over his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez. However, when it comes to third-placed Fernando Alonso, Verstappen already has a comfortable 44-point lead.
Christian Horner insists Red Bull will not have team orders
Since Red Bull had such a strong start to the 2023 season, there have been fears that the side will impose team orders on their drivers. However, team principal Christian Horner has made it clear that his side will not impose any such thing provided Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have a respectful battle for the championship.
Horner appeared on the Pardon My Take podcast earlier this season when he made it clear that Red Bull will allow their drivers to race each other. The British team principal stated that Red Bull can afford to allow their drivers to race each other as they currently have a ‘luxury problem‘ because of how dominant they have been.
The ‘luxury problem‘ arises as it is both Red Bull drivers that are fighting for the championship this season. Horner concluded his remarks by stating that it has been a delight for his team to watch Verstappen and Perez battle it out. He just hopes that they kept it ‘tidy‘ for the rest of the season.
