Red Bull boss Christian Horner has explained how the team’s latest upgrades have removed the previous “disconnect between the front and rear” of its Formula 1 car.
The reigning champions headed into the autumn break on an eight-race winless run amid balance issues with its RB20 having undone a dominant start to the season.
However, Red Bull looks to have turned a corner with updates in the United States helping Max Verstappen to extend his points advantage for the first time since July.
Verstappen turned pole position into an untroubled win in the Sprint, while he ended up third in the main race despite struggling with excessive understeer throughout.
But although that contributed to the Dutchman being 19 seconds behind Ferrari race winner Charles Leclerc, Horner insisted Red Bull’s new parts worked as expected.
“I think the team have worked very hard and I think they’ve definitely added performance here,” Horner told media including Motorsport Week post-race.
“I think there’s more to understand and more to fine-tune. But I think coming off the back of Singapore, I think it’s been a strong turnaround.
“We’ve outscored our nearest competitor in the Drivers’ Championship by five points this weekend. So, you know, three weeks ago that looked very difficult.”
Horner discusses Red Bull changes
Horner revealed that Red Bull appears to have dialled out the previous detachment between the RB20’s front and rear end to provide its drivers with a more benign car.
“I think what it’s done is brought the balance a bit closer together,” he elucidated.
“So, this disconnect between front and rear, it’s brought more of a balance into the car.
“And really, from the first lap, Max was much more competitive. He was much happier with the car as soon as we got here.
“So, that’s encouraging for some of the races coming up as well.
“So first part of this triple header, Sprint race weekend as well. I think, as I said, it’s as much as we could have hoped for coming out of the back of Singapore.”
Red Bull coy on more upgrades
Horner would not be drawn on whether Red Bull has more developments in the pipeline for the upcoming rounds now it has validated that it is back on the right track.
“You’re always learning,” he highlighted. “So, you’re always looking to get more performance. And, of course, every track is a different challenge.
“So, I think the good thing is we have a direction. Is there also more to come or not? You’re always looking for more.”
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