Horner: Red Bull proved doubters wrong with upgrade plan

Red Bull principal Christian Horner revealed that the team introduced an upgrade at Imola, and proved they were right to back themselves.

The first European round of a season is often prime time for a team to bring their first upgrade package of a season, but with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix being the first sprint race weekend of 2022, teams were put off from doing so due to the reduction in practice time.

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Red Bull though went against the grain, a move which appeared to pay off as Max Verstappen comfortably took the victory, ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez in P2.

Ferrari, who opted not to bring a major upgrade, did not have the pace to deny Verstappen, Charles Leclerc suffering a costly spin as he chased Perez over P2, ultimately finishing P6, while Carlos Sainz was out on Lap 1 after receiving a hit from Daniel Ricciardo.

Imola The Sequel #F1pic.twitter.com/DPnrzwXHVI

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) April 24, 2022

Asked if Red Bull needed that result after the disappointment of Australia, Horner told Sky F1: “Absolutely, we attacked the weekend, we brought a little upgrade.

“A lot of people said ‘you shouldn’t do that with only one practice session’ and we believed in ourselves and it paid off.

“I think we were unlucky in Australia a couple of weeks ago, but we came within one point of a maximum score here this weekend, so it’s a great