Red Bull: Vettel will bounce back but Ricciardo is impressive according to Horner
The 2014 season begins in the worst possible way for Sebastien Vettel. Dominated on the track by his new teammate, the four-time German World Champion is having the hardest time understanding the behavior of his single-seater. This is, in any case, what Christian Horner, the sporting director of Red Bull, believes, who nonetheless remains confident in his driver while being greatly impressed by his teammate.
Despite securing a hard-fought podium in Malaysia, Sebastian Vettel’s early season is not very promising. Outperformed by his new teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, both in qualifying and in the race, the German is struggling to feel comfortable behind the wheel of his RB10.
Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull Racing, confirms these difficulties and points to the excessive tire wear by his driver, which is rather unusual for the reigning four-time World Champion: “I think Sebastian is going through a rough patch at the moment because he can’t feel his car the way he wants to,” he told Autosport.
As Helmut Marko confided last weekend on the microphone of Canal +, Sebastian Vettel has trouble finding the limits of his car if it doesn’t perfectly suit him, unlike his teammate. Horner confirms this: He is extremely sensitive to certain aspects of his settings, and currently, he is not receiving the desired feedback from his car. As a result, he is wearing out his tires much more than before, which is unusual for him. We haven’t seen this since Pirelli introduced new components in 2011. The lifespan of his tires is shorter than average.
The Briton still has confidence in his driver and is convinced he will bounce back quickly: “I think we are at the peak of his problems at the moment. But as soon as he resolves them, he will come back with a bang.”
At the same time, Daniel Ricciardo in the other RB10 is fully satisfied with his car and delivers performances beyond the expectations placed on him at the beginning of the year. This strongly impresses Horner and his team: « Daniel has been very impressive all weekend. He put in an enormous performance. He really stood out in the first four Grand Prix of the year. He did a fantastic job. »
Even more than his performances, it is his attitude and approach to racing that seem to impress his boss the most: « His confidence grows day by day. He seems so calm in the car. His feedback is exceptional and when he talks on the radio, it sounds like he’s in a café or on the road. He loves what he does. He is very happy to be a race car driver and his happiness benefits the team. »
