Christian Horner breaks silence on James Allison’s scathing Red Bull ‘downgrade’ remark

Max Verstappen won the Canadian Grand Prix by beating the likes of Mercedes and McLaren.

Christian Horner breaks silence on James Allison’s scathing Red Bull ‘downgrade’ remark

Christian Horner and James Allison (via IMAGO)

Red Bull Team Principal, Christian Horner clapped back on Mercedes’s James Allison after he made a dismissive remark on Red Bull’s RB20. The Mercedes Technical Director criticized Red Bull during the week leading up to the Canadian Grand Prix.

Red Bull has seen a comparable decline in their dominating form as the Milton Keynes outfit battles with the likes of Ferrari and McLaren, who have picked up the pace in the 2024 championship. Seeing the team’s struggles during the Monaco Grand Prix and the practice sessions in Montreal, James Allison was quick to take a jibe at the reigning champions.

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Allison asserted that Red Bull’s upgrades have fared as a ‘downgrade’ rather than an upgrade for the team. However, Christian Horner had the last laugh after the Montreal event, where Max Verstappen won impeccably, beating the likes of Mercedes’s George Russell.

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Even with our downgrade, we managed to beat their upgrade.
Christian Horner said in an interview with GPBlog

Mercedes is currently the fourth-fastest team this season but was looking confident going into the race on Sunday after George Russell took pole position. But the team lost out to the brilliance of Verstappen, which made Horner clap back at Allison, claiming that RB20 has been better with their supposed downgrade against the Mercedes’ W15 upgrades.

Sergio Perez receives grid penalty and hefty fine for Red Bull

Red Bull driver, Sergio Perez received a 3-place grid penalty as well as a hefty fine of €25,000 at the end of the Canadian GP. The penalties were imposed by the FIA because Perez made his way to the pits with a broken rear wing after a collision with the wall.

Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez(via IMAGO)
That was a horrible weekend for Checo. Obviously we picked up some damage, so he'll need to come back strong in Barcelona.
Christian Horner said in an interview with SkySports

Sergio Perez failed to make it out of Q1 for the second consecutive race this season, with the 34-year-old seemingly looking fragile and out of pace for Red Bull. Moreover, in the race, Perez crashed into the barriers during the closing stages, which damaged his rear wing, leading him to retire for a second successive time.

Perez limped with his car back into the pits despite having a broken wing and shattered debris on the track which did not comply with the race control rules. As a result, he got a 3-place grid penalty for the Spanish GP. His season has begun to turn from bad to worse and the 34-year-old will now have to inadvertently perform to justify his contract extension with the Milton-Keynes outfit until 2026.

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