Team Principal Christian Horner explains why Red Bull is struggling to find solutions to the current issues with the RB21. Horner cites correlation problems between data from tools, including the outdated wind tunnel, and from the track as the main culprit. ‘It’s like trying to keep time on two different watches,’ laments Horner.
Issues with the tires, grip, balance, brakes, pit stops… Red Bull had a tough time during the Bahrain GP. The Austrians even held a crisis meeting after the race. However, Team Principal Christian Horner remained notably calm even after this meeting. According to Horner, the capricious RB21 suffers from the same technical issues as its predecessor, but these are difficult to remedy due to one major problem that Red Bull is grappling with.
“The problem is that the solutions we see in our tools (in the factory, ed.) do not correlate with what we see on the track,” Horner explains. “We need to figure this out as soon as possible. Why can’t we see with our tools what we see on the track? It’s like trying to keep time on two different watches.”
Especially the data from the wind tunnel, which is now over sixty years old, does not correlate well with what Red Bull sees on the track. “The situation is similar to last year. The wind tunnel has driven us in a certain direction, but we don’t see those things on the track. So there is no correlation between what the tools tell us and what the data from the track says. We are now mainly collecting data from the track, and that data will lead us in finding solutions.”
2027
Fortunately, there is a small glimmer of hope for Red Bull at the end of the dark tunnel they currently find themselves in. “We are working on a new wind tunnel that we will put into use in 2027, although we will have to work with the current version for at least another eighteen months.”
