Christian Horner and Red Bull feel the 2024 F1 season was unfair after losing title to McLaren

Red Bull started the 2024 F1 season with the kind of dominant package they had enjoyed throughout 2023. At the opening race in Bahrain, Max Verstappen secured a comfortable pole position, and then won by more than 22 seconds.

But by the finale in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen only had the speed to qualify fifth. Sergio Perez, who started the year competing for podiums and front-row starts, was 10th – an above-average result in the final third of the year.

Damningly, Verstappen was outpaced by the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg, though he started ahead of the German because of a penalty. In the race itself, the world champion finished sixth, mounting a comeback after a turn-one spin.

He hit Oscar Piastri – a move that triggered a 10-second penalty – and tumbled down the order. The end result wasn’t entirely representative, then, but Verstappen still couldn’t get within three-tenths of race-winner Lando Norris’ fastest time during the Grand Prix.

How, then, was there such a great swing? In part, Red Bull went backwards due to the failure of high-profile upgrade packages.

Equally, though, McLaren seemed to be the class of the field in the development race. While rivals’ updates were unpredictable, every set of new parts appeared to yield the desired results at Woking.

Red Bull believe McLaren made unfair development gains with their 2024 car

Red Bull don’t see McLaren’s successful march as a pure engineering triumph. Having won the title in 2022 and 2023, Christian Horner watched his squad slip to third place, 77 points off the new champions.

According to The Race, Red Bull feel the competitive picture ‘changed unfairly’. Some of McLaren’s innovations lay outside the rules in their eyes.

Red Bull demanded changes to McLaren’s wings after Piastri’s victory at the Azerbaijan GP in September. They put pressure on the FIA, and Zak Brown’s outfit subsequently agreed to modify their controversial ‘mini DRS’ design.

Later, it emerged that Red Bull had sparked another FIA investigation, this time over alleged use of water to cool the tyres. The sport’s governing body found no proof of foul play from McLaren or any other team.

Politically, Horner wanted to show Verstappen that he’d stop at nothing to defend his interests. But there’s a lasting belief within Red Bull that the 2024 performance swing can’t be ‘explained purely by in-season development trends’.

Why McLaren are set for undeserved race wins in the 2025 F1 season

Jolyon Palmer was taken aback by McLaren and Norris in 2024. They were a lower midfield team at the start of last year, and while they surged up the field to become a podium contender, the gap to Red Bull was still significant heading into the winter.

McLaren will welcome the ill-feeling within the Red Bull camp. Brown will feel he’s found a way under Horner’s skin after their public spats.

While Red Bull surrendered their constructors’ throne, the drivers’ title remains F1’s most prestigious prize. In that sense, the Milton Keynes team were still the biggest victors.

But McLaren can now score undeserved wins, Brown says, after a year of experience fighting at the front. He expects them to be more ruthless, ready to capitalise from behind when the leaders make mistakes – a role reversal from 2024.