Red Bull future engine penalties "hugely frustrating for Honda" - Christian Horner

Hungarian Grand Prix

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Red Bull future engine penalties "hugely frustrating for Honda" - Horner

Perez has lost an engine while a Verstappen unit is under examination

Sam Hall

Friday 6 August 2021 08:00

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has conceded there to be "very little" chance the team will avoid engine penalties this season after the damage sustained in the last two grands prix.

Sergio Perez became the latest to suffer when he lost a power unit from the restricted pool of three following the first-turn mayhem in the race in Hungary on Sunday.

Although Max Verstappen's system after his British GP smash survived practice and qualifying at the Hungaroring, a crack was discovered that led to it being replaced ahead of the race and returned to Honda's factory in Sakura for examination.

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Horner claims the high likelihood of penalties over the second half of the season for accidents beyond Red Bull's control is of particular frustration to power unit supplier Honda.

Asked of the chances of completing the season without a 10-place engine penalty, Horner assessed: “Very little I’m afraid.

"And that’s hugely frustrating for Honda because it’s not due to reliability, it’s because of accidents that we haven’t caused.

“They’re feeling the brunt of this as well, as we are on the chassis side, and it’s not to be underestimated."

Verstappen had less downforce than Haas

Despite Red Bull's best efforts during the red-flag period, Verstappen contested the majority of the race with significant floor damage and without the bargeboard on the right-hand side of his car.

“Let’s just say I think Mick Schumacher had more downforce than Max," joked Horner referring to the Haas in contrast to Verstappen's heavily damaged RB16B.

Turning to the positives, Horner added: "The mechanics lowered the pit stop time for this year, certainly on our watches, so we keep fighting.

“Thankfully, Mercedes made a howler strategically and Fernando Alonso looked like he was driving for Red Bull as well [given his defence against Lewis Hamilton] so the damage was limited compared to what it could have been.”