Christian Horner’s reaction to Red Bull’s Italian GP revealed after mid-race text

Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle received a text from ex-Red Bull boss Christian Horner in the middle of the Italian Grand Prix, revealing his reaction to his former team’s return to form.

Red Bull returned to winning ways at Monza on Sunday as Max Verstappen won the grand prix by over 19 seconds.

Verstappen hadn’t won in F1 since the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix back in May.

It also marked Red Bull’s first victory since Horner’s exit as team principal.

Red Bull’s resurgence at Monza came as a surprise, given they endured one of their worst weekends of Verstappen’s 2024 title-winning campaign last year at the ‘Temple of Speed’.

Verstappen finished the 2024 edition of the Italian GP in sixth, over 35 seconds behind race winner Charles Leclerc.

Horner, who was likely watching the race back at home as he’s not currently employed by an F1 team, texted Brundle.

Horner was impressed with his former team’s performance, praising them for “how hard the team have worked” on their new low downforce package.

“A message from Christian Horner here actually,” Brundle said. “Saying, ‘This was our worst race last year. We had the wrong downforce level,’ and how hard the team have worked on that package and done a great job. Of course, they’ve turned it around.”

How did Verstappen dominate at Monza?

Verstappen delivered a masterclass in qualifying to secure his fifth pole position of the year.

No driver on the grid now has more pole positions than Verstappen in 2025.

Unlike in 2024, Red Bull had a Monza-spec rear wing available to them.

Due to Monza being an outlier circuit, Red Bull decided against making an incredibly skinny rear wing last year because of the cost cap.

Their upgraded package clearly paid off as Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton’s 2020 track record in qualifying.

Despite having to give up the lead on Lap 2, Verstappen overtook Lando Norris just two laps later.

Verstappen opened up a six-second lead by the time he made his pit stop.

Unlike the McLaren duo, who stayed out in a bid to benefit from a Safety Car, Verstappen stopped earlier for hards, giving him a comfortable lead when the stops for the McLaren pair played out.

Verstappen now sits 94 points behind Oscar Piastri with eight rounds to go.