Horner’s Snippy Response To Wolff’s Comments About Engine Gains

Red Bull’s pace advantage on the straights over Mercedes at Paul Ricard came as a surprise to many as it was somewhat of a rare sight for the hybrid era. The last time a team other than Mercedes showed such straight-line supremacy was in 2018-2019 when Ferrari dominated the straights. Red Bull’s performance in France following the introduction of new Honda power units raised some eyebrows and team principal Christian Horner has now addressed these comments as quoted by Motorsport

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0:00 - Horner’s Snippy Response To Wolff’s Comments About Significant Engine Gains
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Horner’s Snippy Response To Wolff’s Comments About Significant Engine Gains

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff suggested that Red Bull have made a significant leap forward with their new power unit

“They have made a huge step forward with their power unit, the introduction of the second power unit. And their race car is good, no doubt about that”

Christian Horner responded to this suggestion

“We're not allowed to make progress? I don't know what he's referencing there. I think that it's the same specification as the first unit”

He then explained why they were so fast on the straights

“We've run a much smaller rear wing, so that's why the straight-line performance was strong. I think Honda are doing a great job, but we don't see a sudden significant increase in power”

Toyoharu Tanabe, Honda F1's Technical Director reiterated Horner’s explanation

“On the team side we are introducing new parts so that we can evolve every race. The power unit is the same [specification] all the time, but we are learning better how to use energy management etc. for every race”

He offered some more insight into their performance gains to sum up his words

"We are looking at the characteristics of each circuit, and I think that such daily developments are connected to the current improvement”
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Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton has suggested that the Red Bull Ring is “a circuit that demands a lot of power, with those long straights”

“So [they] could see something similar to this weekend, obviously with the Red Bull's speed now on the straights”

But Mercedes “have three days to try and make adjustments and improvements and maybe if [they] can maximise absolutely everything, [they] might hurt” Red Bull, Hamilton suggested

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff “still thinks Valtteri did a good race. He was very close to Max [Verstappen] and Lewis for much of the race” in France

“In terms of tyre management, it's also going in the right direction. There is still a difference between Valtteri and Lewis in that respect”

However, he really sees “progress in how Valtteri handles the races. And [they've] never had any doubts about his qualifying”

Wolff also implied that “Valtteri knows that performing on the track is the only answer to all these rumours” about George Russell replacing him at Mercedes next year

Retired F1 driver Gerhard Berger feels that “there comes a point when you can no longer compete at the highest level, but you still enjoy racing. Then you start to ask yourself where you can go”

He “would love it if at some point [Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel] says: 'I've won four titles and had a lot of success, but now I just want to have fun' and then he chooses the DTM”

Retired F1 driver turned pundit Martin Brundle feels that “this is going to be a season of F1 racing that just keeps on giving”

He’s “been waiting for this through seven hybrid F1 seasons and it appears to be well worth the wait”

“This is about speed, consistency, guile, racecraft, calculated risks, and delivering all day every day. [He’s] really happy to be witnessing it”

He also pointed out that “the FIA delivered a comprehensive 'Technical Directive' which set out a significant set of new checks for tyre pressure management and blanket heating”

“Without ever quite saying so, the inference was that Red Bull and Aston Martin had been running their tyre pressures below the recommended minima”

He added that “it's a very serious topic if driver and track worker safety is being put at risk for performance”

F1’s managing director Ross Brawn thinks that Mercedes’ “Valtteri [Bottas] has been having an extremely difficult time of late”

“He looked quite strong [last] weekend but was the biggest victim of Mercedes’ strategy”

However, “in fairness to Mercedes, if you followed what drivers wanted regarding strategy, the success percentage would decrease” Brawn added
Will Sebastian Vettel continue racing after retiring from F1?

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