Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes it can be “encouraged” that the changes made to its car during Formula 1‘s Singapore Grand Prix delivered the desired impact.
The Austrian squad was braced to encounter another challenging round last weekend on a Marina Bay Circuit which was predicted to expose the RB20’s weaknesses.
But while Red Bull’s concerns began to materialise in the opening practice hours, Max Verstappen capitalised on overnight alterations to bag a front-row starting spot.
The Dutchman was unable to provide a match to Lando Norris, who cruised to a 20-second win, but he managed to split the two McLaren cars to come home second.
READ MORE: Max Verstappen hails Red Bull turnaround in F1 Singapore GP
Red Bull managing to implement set-up tweaks that provided the intended effect marked a stark contrast to the woes Verstappen endured in Baku the previous week.
As Red Bull aims to use the upcoming autumn break to work on upgrades, Horner was heartened that the side’s changes correlated on track with the simulation tools.
“I think that the encouraging thing was the car reacted as we hoped it would and what our tools were telling us,” Horner told media including Motorsport Week.
“So I think that’s the encouraging factor. I think that the team is starting to get a direction and understanding of where some of the limitations
and some of the causes of limitations and that opens up development paths and veins that hopefully will be productive.”
Horner details Red Bull turnaround
Horner has revealed that ex-F1 driver Sebastien Buemi spent a prolonged period in the simulator back in Milton Keynes on Friday to help Red Bull overcome its issues.
“He [Buemi] was consuming plenty of Red Bull to keep him going,” Horner quipped.
“So he played an important part as a whole team in working hard and long days and long nights.
“With the benefit of it, there being no factory shutdown over the next three-week period [before the next round], it’s going to be a busy hive of activity.”
Red Bull not giving up on 2024 title race
Verstappen’s return to the podium was unable to prevent Red Bull from losing more ground to McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship as Sergio Perez was 10th.
McLaren has now opened up a 41-point margin over the reigning champions, but Horner is adamant that Red Bull will not give up hope over the remaining six events.
“Look, I think everybody’s massively motivated in the team,” he insisted.
“We’re still fighting, obviously, for both championships, so we took a hit again in the constructors today, but still a lot of races to go.
“And, you know, some circuits that we performed very well at in the past.”
