{"id":24003,"date":"2024-09-03T04:03:07","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T08:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=24003"},"modified":"2024-09-03T04:03:07","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T08:03:07","slug":"christian-horner-dismisses-impact-of-newey-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/09\/03\/christian-horner-dismisses-impact-of-newey-exit\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian Horner dismisses impact of Newey exit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Red Bull are currently in their toughest period since 2021, as McLaren<\/a> and Ferrari<\/a> continue to close the gap in the standings. Even Max Verstappen’s 60-point cushion in the drivers’ Championship is being eroded. In the eyes of some, the beginning of Red Bull’s decline can be attributed to Adrian Newey<\/a> leaving the team. Christian Horner sees things very differently.<\/p>\n

Christian Horner: Red Bull problems were present even with Newey<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Horner downplays importance of Newey departure<\/h4>\n

Whilst it was off-track controversy that surrounded Red Bull at the beginning of 2024, the defending Champions now face a dire situation with their on-track performance.<\/p>\n

The RB20 is rapidly losing ground to the other top teams. Red Bull even find themselves in unfamiliar territory as being the fourth-fastest team in recent events.<\/p>\n

In addition to their lack of pace, Red Bull are struggling to find a good set-up<\/a> with the RB20. Poor balance and inconsistent handling characteristics continue to plague Max Verstappen, who is increasingly frustrated with the situation at Milton Keynes.<\/p>\n

Somewhat ironically, the Austrian squad have failed to make meaningful improvements since Adrian Newey stopped being involved in their F1 project.<\/p>\n

For some, there is a clear causation between these two things. However, Christian Horner<\/a> does not see any link:<\/p>\n

“I think we would have had all these problems anyway. Because the problems were already there,” he told the media.<\/em><\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>