17/09/2023
NEWS STORY
Red Bull boss, Christian Horner has denied claims that it is the latest technical directive from the FIA that has impacted his team's performance this weekend.
Having looked off the pace throughout all three practice sessions, with drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez complaining about all manner of issues including balance and rear grip, the reality of the situation hit home in qualifying when neither made it out of Q2.
Though mystified by the sudden drop-off in performance - the team having won all previous 14 races this season - Christian Horner is adamant that it is not the result of the latest technical directive from the FIA aimed at clamping down on flexing bodywork.
At the end of August, the teams were given notice of the intention to issue the directive (TD018), after the FIA's technical director, Tim Goss noticed "a little bit too much freedom being applied to the design details of aerodynamic components", this weekend's Grand Prix being the first since it was issued.
"It's very, very confusing, to have dropped the amount of pace that we have," Horner told Sky Sports.
"The car's just not responding to changes," he added, "you can hear this understeer, oversteer, braking issues, it's like we haven't managed to get the tyre into the right working window.
"The car we have here for qualifying is essentially the identical car that we had two weeks ago in Monza and a week before that in Zandvoort," he insisted.
"Nothing's changed on the car. We tried a new aero part on Friday and we thought OK we'll revert on that component, so it's a tried and tested set-up that we have. But it just hasn't responded on this circuit, on this asphalt."
Meanwhile, when asked if he believes it is the directive to blame for Red Bull's sudden lack of performance, Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff was unusually coy.
"It's so difficult," he said. "We have one set of data now, Friday and Saturday in Singapore, tomorrow is a race and then we're going to move it a different track where that plays a role. So let's wait.
"We've seen those one-offs with Mercedes in the past and that's why I'd rather now concentrate on what we can deliver tomorrow than think too much about whether that could have had an effect yet."
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