Red Bull boss Christian Horner considered it “ironic” after Renault indirectly cost Max Verstappen a podium at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Dutchman looked likely to catch the ailing Charles Leclerc in the closing laps of Sunday’s race, only for a near-simultaneous failure of both works Renault cars three laps from the end.
Even more amusingly, it was Daniel Ricciardo not replacing the steering wheel on his car which led to the Safety Car that neutralised the race until the chequered flag.
“Renault blowing up unfortunately didn’t help us see the podium,” Horner said to ESPN with a smile. “It’s ironic, isn’t it? Whether they’re in the car or out of the car!”
Of course, he was referring both to the reliability issues which had impacted Red Bull during their partnership with Renault in the V6 hybrid era and now after switching to Honda power units for 2019.
However, Verstappen himself acknowledged a podium wouldn’t have represented the team’s performance in what was a tough weekend in the desert.
“I think we need to find more performance,” Horner said in agreement. “Ferrari was very strong here this weekend, Mercedes have got lucky with a 1-2 [finish].
“Ferrari were dominant here this weekend. So trying to understand where we are, the strengths and weaknesses to Ferrari here is quite important.”
Though some may look at the speed traps and suggest the Honda engine played a role, the Red Bull chief claims the biggest problem was tyres.
“You can see, once you get in the window, [Ferrari] looked like a different team to two different weeks ago and vice versa with Mercedes so it’s just understanding what the magic is,” Horner admitted.
