Red Bull boss Christian Horner says Ferrari’s dramatic drop down the order has left him feeling bitter about the races the Italian team won with its controversial engine in 2019.
Rivals suspected Ferrari’s engine was illegal last year. After preseason testing this year, the FIA confirmed it had reached a private settlement with the team on the issue. Seven of F1’s 10 teams accused the FIA of a lack of transparency over the issue, although the cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix in March prevented it from becoming a bigger row.
The significance of the settlement has been clear to see this year, with Ferrari slipping down the competitive order. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Ferrari-powered cars were only quicker than the backmarking Williams cars, and both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc finished outside of the points.
Horner suggested last year’s championship, which saw Ferrari beat Red Bull to second in the Constructors’ Championship, would have looked a lot different had the FIA acted sooner.
Asked if he had any lingering frustration over the issue, Horner said: “The whole thing has left quite a sour taste.
“I mean, obviously you can draw your own conclusions from Ferrari’s current performance, but, yeah, there are races that we should have won last year arguably if they had run with an engine that seems to be quite different to what performance that they had last year.”
Horner said it is not surprising Ferrari has struggled this year, given the fact the FIA’s settlement seemed to confirm the team was working around an engine which did not line up with the regulations.
“It’s obviously very tough for them, but I think their focus has obviously been in the wrong areas in previous years, which is why they’re obviously seem to be struggling a little with whatever was in that agreement,” he said.
Ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said Ferrari’s current situation was the due to “certain individuals” within the team having the wrong priorities.