“Max Verstappen was able to mask”: Christian Horner details 2024 shortcomings behind Sergio Perez’s Red Bull downfall

Red Bull Racing's team principal Christian Horner has revealed the issue with the team's 2024 car that Max Verstappen was able to work around, and his then-teammate Sergio Perez was not. Horner also admits that this issue is most likely what caused the performance discrepancy between Perez and Verstappen, that led to a significant points difference between the two, which also resulted in Red Bull ending last season third place in the constructors' standings. The team boss has also said that the issue has been addressed in the development of the Austrian outfit's new 2025 challenger.

Speaking with the media earlier this week, Horner discussed how an upgrade introduced to the car at Imola last year gave the RB20 a narrow window in which it would deliver top performance, and if the driver did not stay in that window, the car would prove problematic. The 51-year-old said [via RacingNews365]:

"If you stepped a millimetre either side of [the window], it became much more of a problematic car to drive, which Max was able to mask and drive around. I think that's what hurt Checo particularly, is that window was so narrow."

The Red Bull boss further elaborated on the changes that have been done for the RB21, which is set to be launched later this month, saying:

"So what the engineers have been very much focused on over the winter is how you broaden that window, not necessarily adding ultimate performance, but just broadening the window so that you've got, across the different challenges and circuits that we visit, a much wider operating window,"

At the end of the 2024 season, Sergio Perez had scored 152 points, which was 285 points short of his championship-winning teammate. Red Bull also missed out on the constuctors' title by 77 points, with the win going to McLaren and Ferrari taking second place.

Red Bull Racing's 2025 car launch set for February 25th

Christian Horner, Max Verstappen, and Perez's replacement for the 2025 season, Liam Lawson, will all attend the F1 75 event taking place on 18th February at the O2 arena in London to reveal the RB21's livery. The 2025 car itself will make it's debut on 25th February with a filming day in Bahrain, a day before the pre-season testing session begins in Sakhir.

The filming day will see Verstappen get first crack at the new vehicle, followed by his 23-year-old teammate driving it later in the day. The team is allowed upto 200km per launch day on Pirelli demonstration tyres.

The event on 18th February will give fans a look at all the other teams' liveries as well, with the event being set to be streamed live on F1's social media channels, including YouTube.