Exclusive: 'Leave it alone' - Red Bull principal Christian Horner hits out at new F1 floor changes for 2023
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Updated 27/07/2022 at 16:06 GMT
Formula One will introduce a technical directive after the summer break at the Belgian Grand Prix which is set to target porpoising and flexible floors after a big debate between teams and the FIA. Talks regarding further changes are ongoing for the 2023 F1 season which Red Bull team boss Christian Horner believes wouldn’t be right if the sport wants to become more competitive.
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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has hit out at Formula One’s proposal to make further changes to the technical regulations for next season.
There has been a big debate this year about porpoising, which is when the cars bounce harshly, which was brought to light at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with several drivers complaining and feeling it was “unsafe”.
Lewis Hamilton struggled to climb out of his car after the race and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly fearing drivers could “end up with a cane at 30 years old”.
There have also been suspicions that some teams are exploiting flexi-floors which the FIA will clamp down on from the Belgium Grand Prix with a technical directive that targets porpoising and flexible parts.
Horner has already stated F1 shouldn’t be introducing a technical directive since “it’s up to the teams to sort their own problems out” and is weary of further floor changes for next season.
“Changing rules because a couple of teams haven’t managed to hit targets is never the right thing to do,” he told Eurosport.
“If you want to have convergence in F1, the best thing to do is to leave it alone. Then all the teams will converge.
“What you would see next year, if the rules were left completely alone, I’d be surprised if you saw any bouncing because we've got some of the brightest engineers in the technical world solving these problems.
“These regulations are the biggest change we've had in 40 years. You can already see in recent races there's not been any sign of some of the bouncing from earlier in the year.”
Ferrari and Red Bull appear to be against major technical changes for next year since F1 introduced a completely new set of regulations for this season.
Mercedes have allegedly pushed for changes on the grounds of safety, which some teams feel is not necessary.
When asked if Red Bull would have to change anything on their 2022 car to fit the technical directive that will come into force from the Belgian Grand Prix on August 26-28, Horner said: “We're happy with where our car is.
"There's been a lot of noise about that technical directive. But it really has no impact on how we operate the car.”
Honda return to F1?
After Max Verstappen’s dramatic title win last year, Red Bull’s engine supplier, Honda, ceased its official works involvement in F1.
But, Red Bull’s and AlphaTauri’s power unit is still supplied directly from Honda’s base in Japan which will be the case until 2025.
The original plan was for Red Bull to run its own powertrains division in Milton Keynes from 2023 which will no longer be the case.
There have been reports Honda could soon return to F1 as an official engine supplier since they are still currently supplying Red Bull and AlphaTauri their power unit, but without any branding.
“There’s obviously been healthy discussions with Honda,” answered Horner when queried about a potential Honda return.
“We’re enjoying a great technical relationship with them and we’re grateful for the engineering agreement that we have in place that allows us to continue to use their product in a different guise.
“It's been a partnership that has worked very well.”
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