Christian Horner outlines Red Bull upgrade plan as intriguing RB comparison made

Christian Horner has explained why Red Bull don’t plan to introduce a sizable F1 upgrade in 2024, opting for a more “iterative” approach as they look to get on top of their recent issues.

Red Bull have been beaten to the win in two of the last three races.

Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc won in Miami and Monaco respectively.

It could have been back-to-back races for Norris, finishing just 0.7s behind Max Verstappen at Imola.

It appears that the Red Bull struggles at circuits which are low-speed, bumpy and require a lot of kerb usage.

Interestingly, Horner suggested that sister team Visa Cash App RB - which run the same suspension - haven’t faced the same issues as Red Bull.

“I think it’s a continual process,” Horner told media including Crash.net in Monaco. “So, of course, you’re into the law of diminishing returns. And of course, your focus changes depending on what your problems are.

“So I think quite a lot of focus will now happen or will now take part on ‘Okay, why have we had these ride issues? Why is the car struggling on the kerbs?’

“The VCARB car is running with our suspension from last year, and didn’t seem to have the same issues. So, you know, we need to understand, is it something that we’ve introduced?”

Red Bull have dominated this set of regulations, only failing to win four races since the start of last year.

Given this factor, it’s no surprise to hear Horner concede that Red Bull are reaching the “law of diminishing returns” with regards to further development.

“Well, I think we’re a bit more iterative,” he added. “So obviously, we’ve bought some pieces here and there, and they’ve done what they’ve said on the tin.

“But when you start to get to the top of the curve, you get into a law of diminishing returns in terms of the amount of development that is earning its place on the car. And of course, with the cost cap now, you have to be very selective of when you introduce those upgrades.”