Christian Horner F1 News: Red Bull boss breaks silence over Las Vegas GP fumble

Christian Horner, Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Las Vegas, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Las Vegas Grand Prix

Horner breaks silence over Las Vegas Grand Prix fumble

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has gone back on a bizarre team statement from the Las Vegas GP

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 25 November 2024 09:12

Formula 1 team principal Christian Horner has retracted a bizarre admission that was revealed by the Red Bull camp during the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend.

His team got off to a dreadful start in Vegas before their luck turned, with star driver Max Verstappen's P5 finish still enough to secure his fourth consecutive championship.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen delivers championship DIG as star faces FIA punishment

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Mercedes looked like Hamilton ROARS back as slippery track causes chaos">the team to beat early on in the proceedings at the iconic street track, with the Silver Arrows topping the timesheets for every practice session across the weekend.

This rang true as the chequered flag was waved to conclude the main event as well, with Toto Wolff's team securing a spectacular 1-2 thanks to a victory from George Russell and P2 finish from Lewis Hamilton.

Red Bull had reason for celebration not just because of Verstappen's championship victory but also because his underperforming team-mate Sergio Perez finally brought home a point for the team, and even if it was just a single point, they all count as Red Bull chase down an unlikely comeback in the constructors' standings.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell took home a Mercedes 1-2 in Vegas

Red Bull had cause for celebration after Max Verstappen's P5 finish secured his fourth F1 title

F1 RESULTS: Mercedes take STUNNING 1-2 as Verstappen crowned champion at Las Vegas Grand Prix

Prior to the team's semi-success in Vegas, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko had confirmed to the media that they hadn't brought the correct rear wing to the race with them and that it would not be possible to ship the suitable one to Nevada in time for the grand prix.

Shutting down speculation over Red Bull's rookie mistake, Horner confirmed to Sky F1 that they hadn't simply 'forgotten' the wing as Marko had implied.

"Well you know it can happen but no, we did not forget a rear wing" he declared.

Sky pundit Simon Lazenby then queried: "So what was the issue then with it, was it just a mistranslation from Dr. Marko?"

Horner swiftly responded: "There was no issue with it I don’t quite know where it came from but we don’t have a specifically designed wing for very low downforce which is basically potentially here and Monza.

Christian Horner shut down Helmut Marko's claim that Red Bull 'forgot' to pack the Vegas rear wing

"I mean the money that is involved in creating that, within the cost cap you’ve got to pick and choose where you’re going to spend it.

"The wing that we have you end up trimming the wings to achieve a top speed and that’s what many, many of the teams have done."

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Mercedes Christian Horner Las Vegas Grand Prix