Horner reveals Verstappen camp's frustration over Perez-friendly Red Bull

Red Bull's decision to steer its Formula 1 car development towards Max Verstappen's driving style came after direct pressure from the Dutchman's management, according to Christian Horner.

Matters came to a head in 2022 after the team had initially produced a car better suited to Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez, following extensive development work by Alex Albon in 2021.

Horner believes the consequences of that conversation, and Red Bull's subsequent change in development direction, are still being felt at the team four years on.

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Alex Albon's role in developing the 2022 car

Speaking on the High Performance podcast, former team principal Horner explained how reserve driver Albon had played a central role in development during 2021.

"Alex Albon did a hell of a job developing the '22 car, because so much focus was on the '21 car - developing it till the last moment.

"Alex had developed that car, and it was very much around his style of driving, a more classic way of driving which was probably more akin to Sergio [Perez] or a Daniel [Ricciardo]."

"And so when we started the '22 season, if you remember that Max hated the car, it had too much understeer in the car, and Sergio with that predictability, suddenly they were winning a race apiece and they're much closer at the start of that year."

Verstappen's management pushed Red Bull to change direction

While Perez was thriving at Red Bull, not everyone was happy, leading to a conversation between Horner and Verstappen's management team.

"And I remember sitting down with Max's management around Azerbaijan that year and them saying, 'Look you've developed this car around Checo, you need to be following what Max needs'. It was very clear the message that was coming down the line.

"And of course Max is the prime asset - he's the driver you're most likely to going to win with. Of course, any engineering team will gravitate just naturally towards their fastest driver or a team will gravitate to whoever they think is going to be able to give them the best result."

Red Bull's development weaknesses exposed

Horner believes the impact of that conversation, and the subsequent changes, are still felt at Red Bull even today. Everything is about Verstappen.

"I think it exposed some of the weaknesses in our tools - that the wind tunnel wasn't reliable or up to speed enough and some of our simulation wasn't.

"So inevitably the characteristics, even to today still see it, that there is an offset between what Max can get out of the car and Isack - who's done a super job this year."

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