Christian Horner issues Red Bull 'idiots' claim

Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner has spoken out after a dismal weekend for his team at the Austrian Grand Prix.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit endured an unfortunate showing at the 11th round of the championship which saw Max Verstappen DNF at their home circuit, the Red Bull Ring.

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The Dutchman was knocked out on lap one after Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli collided into the side of his RB21, and things only went downhill from there when his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda finished plum last of the remaining runners.

The poor results have left team principal Horner facing questions about what has gone wrong at Red Bull.

Last season they were in contention for both championships, but now, they are all the way down in P4 in the constructors' standings, while Verstappen is 61 points from the top of the drivers' championship.

Speaking after the Austrian GP, Horner told Dutch publication De Telegraaf: "In this sport, there is no magic bullet. Making progress takes time. You first have to understand the problems and then solve them.

"This year also shows that we are hindered with some of our tools. Let me be clear: we don't want to be in this situation. But this is the same, fundamental group of people who just 18 months ago designed a car that won all but one race. They have not suddenly become idiots."

Red Bull crisis spreads beyond driver decisions

With Verstappen sidelined, Red Bull were relying on second driver Tsunoda to bring home some much needed championship points in Spielberg.

Not only did the Japanese racer finish P16 and last of the drivers who remained in the Austrian GP, but he also managed to pick up a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points after causing a collision with Franco Colapinto.

Regardless of Tsunoda's double punishment from the stewards, Austria made it clear that it is not Red Bull's driver choice that is the issue but instead, their tricky machinery.

As Red Bull's main F1 team floundered, their junior team Racing Bulls produced yet another positive weekend.

Both drivers finished above Tsunoda and vitally, former Red Bull driver Liam Lawson secured his best grand prix finish of the season, crossing the line in P6.

The 23-year-old was only given two race weekends to prove himself as Verstappen's team-mate at the start of this season before being demoted back to Racing Bulls.

Many argued he wasn't cut out for the seat but as he, Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar have all proved their capabilities in the junior machinery, it only leaves further questions unanswered about what is going on with Red Bull's F1 car.

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