It is has been a fortnight to forget for the Red Bull Racing team. Their race at the British Grand Prix last week and then at the Hungarian GP today pretty much ended on the opening laps on both days. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has stated that the past two races have proved costly for the team not just in terms of points but also money.
At the Hungaroring this week, both Red Bull cars sustained damaged as a result of Valtteri Bottas‘ actions at turn one of the track. While Max managed to continue and finish 10th, Checo was out of the race immediately after the incident.
Nico Rosberg just said on Sky F1 Germany that Toto Wolff went to see Christian Horner to say sorry, but Horner did not accept the apology. #F1 #HungarianGP
— Tobi Grüner 🏁 (@tgruener) August 1, 2021
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Is he going to pay the bill? It’s racing: Christian Horner slams Toto Wolff
As reported by PlanetF1, Horner stated that as a result of the cost cap, the past two races have been costly for the team. He also mentioned that Perez would need an engine change after his crash.
Talking about Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff‘s apology to him for the crash, Horner said, “Is he going to pay the bill? It’s racing.
“Toto wasn’t driving the car, his driver was driving the car. I’m sure he didn’t tell them ‘crash into Red Bull’. I’m sure he wasn’t that sorry to see the result, but I’m sure he didn’t tell Valtteri to do that.
“But the consequence for us is brutal and in a cost-cap environment that needs looking at by the FIA,” said Horner.
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Red Bull team principal analyzes the first half of the season
While Red Bull have had terrible outings these last two weeks, they were on a race-winning streak before Silverstone. Courtesy of Verstappen and Sergio Perez, they won five consecutive races – something they haven’t done since 2013.
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Thus, reflecting on the first half of the season, Horner said, “Look at the first half of this year. We’ve had six Grand Prix victories, the races we’ve lost were with a tire explosion, we were taken out at Silverstone and this race this weekend.
“There’s only a difference between a first and second [place] between the two guys. I think it will be epic, the second half of this year, and we’re not giving up anything,” said Christian.
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Well, luckily for the Milton Keynes outfit, Hungary was F1’s last race before the summer break, so they will have a long time to energize themselves and come out of this slump.
Do you think we’ll see another Red Bull winning streak after the break? Or have Hamilton and Co. well and truly returned as the top dogs of F1?