Christian Horner urges fellow F1 team bosses to find a “sensible” fix for third-car rebuild rules

Christian Horner believed there was a need to find a fix to the third-car breach rule.

Christian Horner urges fellow F1 team bosses to find a “sensible” fix for third-car rebuild rules

Andrea Stella [L] Christian Horner [C] Fred Vasseur [R] (image via IMAGO)

Sergio Perez had a massive crash during the F1 Sprint at the Qatar GP. The 34-year-old’s RB-19 was damaged significantly. As such, Red Bull had to prepare a replacement chassis for the Mexican driver. The changes led to a breach of the third-car regulations of the FIA and Perez had to start from the pitlane. Now, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has asked his counterparts to work towards fixing this issue.

Repair work on Sergio Perez‘s car after the F1 Sprint exceeded the regulated survival cell stage (cockpit and fuel tank) with the changes not being supervised by the FIA. Moreover, Red Bull had to work for more than the two-hour limit that is mandated by the sports governing body. Williams faced a similar penalty at the Japanese GP when Logan Sargeant was forced to start from the pitlane.

Horner called for all F1 team bosses to find a solution to this issue. The Briton highlighted that both Red Bull and Williams had faced penalties for the same offense on two consecutive weekends. As such, the Red Bull team boss wanted a sensible fix. He said as reported by Autosport, “I think it’s something that team managers need to look at, something a bit more sensible, because now for two weeks with Williams and ourselves, it has been far from ideal.”

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Red Bull needed to breach the rules for repairs on Sergio Perez’s car

Perez’s car was completely overhauled by the Red Bull garage overnight before the start of the Qatar GP. Christian Horner was asked if there was a way for the team to avoid breaching the third-car rules while fixing the RB-19. However, the Briton made it clear that this was simply not possible. The Red Bull team boss praised his team for the valiant effort put in overnight.

Sergio Perez after crashing out during the Qatar GP F1 Sprint.
Sergio Perez after crashing out during the Qatar GP F1 Sprint (image via Speedcafe.com)

Unfortunately, the repair did not lead to a good result. Sergio Perez had a difficult race at the Losail Circuit on Sunday. The Mexican driver finished a lowly tenth and brought home a single point for the team. On the other hand, the 2023 world champion Max Verstappen crossed the chequered flag and brought home another win for the team.

Red Bull will be focusing on the last few races of the 2023 season. The Milton Keynes-based team has truly obliterated the competition this season and has failed to only win one round so far this year. As such, Christian Horner’s squad would be aiming to win the remaining rounds as well. Although, it remains to be seen if the Austrian team can continue its dominance in the future.

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