Christian Horner explains Red Bull’s car progress in the 2024 F1 United States Grand Prix

Christian Horner believes Red Bull’s latest upgrade has improved the balance of the RB20 at the 2024 United States GP. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, Horner noted that Max Verstappen was comfortable and competitive with the car throughout the weekend.

Before the race, Horner emphasized the need for a broader operating window for their car, allowing drivers to extract maximum performance. Verstappen won the sprint race but only managed third in the main race after red flags during qualifying, brought out by George Russell, thwarted his chances to clinch pole position.

Horner feels the upgrades have resolved past issues with the car's front and rear disconnect, improving its overall balance. He acknowledged that the car performed significantly better than in Singapore, where it had struggled. He was also pleased that Red Bull managed to outscore McLaren and Lando Norris for the first time since the Belgium GP.

Asked by Sportkseeda if the upgrades had broadened the working window of the RB20 in Austin, the Red Bull Racing CEO replied:

“I think what its done is brought the balance a bit closer together. 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 say, it is as much as we could have hoped for coming out off the back of Singapore.”

Explaining their progress in Austin, he further added:

“Look I mean look at five races ago and now a 57 point lead. Nothing is ever comfortable or assured. It was important for us, it is the first time we’ve outscored Lando since I think Spa. So that was important for jus to get off the back foot and get on the front foot.”

---

Christian Horner reckons Red Bull car setup could have affected Max Verstappen's pace in the USGP

Christian Horner believes Red Bull may have engineered extra understeer into Max Verstappen’s car, leading to his front tires wearing out during the race. Despite Verstappen’s sprint win and strong qualifying performance, Horner noted that the car struggled significantly on the hard tire in Austin, which exposed one of their biggest weaknesses.

Horner explained that the understeer issue was evident throughout the race, as reflected in Verstappen’s radio exchanges with his engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase. They discussed adjustments needed on the front wing, particularly to address the hard tire’s challenges.

Debriefing the Red Bull RB20’s progress in Austin, Horner said:

“I think we seem to engineer into the car a bit more understeer today and that then sort of killed the front tires and compared to yesterday where we didn't have any understeer you know the car was very quick. So you know we were quick enough to get the pole for the sprint won the sprint and had good degradation in the sprint and the McLaren looked to be the one that was fading um Ferrari looked quick all weekend in fairness uh and then you know arguably. Probably we should have had the pole yesterday. We had a car that was very strong in quali. And then the weakest that we've been has been really on the hard. side, with a bit too much understeer throughout the race.”

Asked about the issue Verstappen was talking about to Lambiase in the first stint, he explained:

“It was relative to the understeer that he had in the car. It was really about how much front wing to put into the car for the hard tire.”

Red Bull currently trails McLaren by 40 points in the constructors’ championship, with Ferrari just eight points behind them. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen holds a 57-point lead over Lando Norris in the drivers’ standings. With five race weekends and two sprint races remaining, the battle for both championships is heating up. Ferrari’s resurgence in Austin, where their pace outshone both McLaren and Red Bull, has disrupted the McLaren-Red Bull rivalry at the front and could play a decisive role in shaping the championship outcome in the upcoming races.