Christian Horner reveals what Stefano Domenicali told him to stop doing before Red Bull began to struggle

Christian Horner has overseen every race Red Bull have competed in while being part of the Formula 1 grid since they joined in 2005.

The team principal had a more difficult year this season as Red Bull floundered throughout much of the campaign and dropped to third place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Sergio Perez was a key part of the Austrian team’s struggle to retain the title. He didn’t win a race and scored his last podium at April’s Chinese Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen is confident Red Bull can improve after a more difficult campaign in 2024, particularly over the middle of the season, despite the Dutchman taking his fourth title.

Red Bull finished 77 points behind McLaren, who had won their first constructors’ championship since 1998, and Ferrari took second place.

Horner revealed one thing the CEO and President of Formula 1, Stefano Domenicali, told him before Red Bull declined around the Miami Grand Prix, which is surprising.

Stefano Domenicali told Christian Horner to ‘slow down and stop winning races and sprints by 20s seconds’

Red Bull dominated the opening stages of the ground effect era in 2022 and 2023 after they aced the new regulations and suffered from less porpoising than teams such as Mercedes and Ferrari.

Verstappen won 19 races last year in an absolutely dominant season where the four-time world champion was a level above the rest of the field.

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

Horner revealed that Domenicali had told Horner Red Bull to slow down as there was very little competition at the front before McLaren and Ferrari improved.

He told RacingNews365: “I think it almost felt like something had changed, because suddenly we had not just one team, but three teams become very competitive and we seemed to lose competitiveness from winning races at a canter in the first four or five races.

“At that point, Stefano Domencali was telling me to slow down and stop winning races and sprints by 20s seconds – it was a massive shift.

“Suddenly our tools didn’t correlate with what we were seeing on track, and then that is where Max played a crucial role, because when your tools aren’t behaving, the biggest sensor and most feedback you get is from the driver.”

Red Bull were very competitive in the opening few rounds but failed to win a race after the Spanish Grand Prix for 14 rounds until Verstappen stormed to victory in Brazil from 17th on the grid.

Red Bull will have to adjust to the inexperienced Liam Lawson next season

Red Bull will be looking to bounce back after a mixed season, and they will have renewed energy after the promotion of Liam Lawson from RB.

The New Zealander is being brought in after Perez floundered throughout 2024 and critically underperformed over the year.

Lawson is very inexperienced, and Red Bull may have to adjust to having a driver with less track time under his belt, as the Kiwi has yet to complete a full season.

Verstappen should be expected to beat his teammate, but Lawson will have to be reliable and ready to score a lot of points if the world champion is having a difficult day.