Horner ironically thanks Mercedes after Red Bull’s Spa double and dominant pace. Red Bull boss Christian Horner has ironically thanked his Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff for pushing for the introduction of a technical directive to reduce porpoising from this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix in Spa, where Red Bull secured a one-two finish.

With the introduction of the new technical rules in Formula One this season, a number of undesirable effects – including porpoising – have occurred and the FIA has had no choice but to intervene by issuing a technical directive from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards to ensure that the phenomenon of bouncing cars is reduced.

Several teams, including Red Bull, were against such changes, as they were less affected by porpoising than others.

Mercedes, on the other hand, has long lobbied for the rapid introduction of this technical directive, as the German manufacturer’s team has had great difficulty with this phenomenon since the beginning of the year with its W13.

But this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix, Mercedes was well behind Red Bull and could do nothing to prevent the Milton Keynes team from securing a one-two finish led by current championship leader Max Verstappen. In a totally ironic twist, Christian Horner thanked Toto Wolff:

“At first glance, I should thank Toto for the TD [Technical Directive]!” said Christian Horner after the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa on Sunday evening.

“On a more serious note, I think this circuit has made the most of our strengths. We had a very efficient car, we found a very good set-up, and Max was in phenomenal form from the first practice.”

“Obviously, strategically, we decided to take the [engine] penalty here and fourteenth place became thirteenth as a starting point. Max obviously had to work his way through the whole field, and he did that very effectively in the first two laps of the race.”

“He managed to get to the front of the race much quicker than we expected and the soft tyre seemed to work well,

“After that, the pace we had with Max and Checo was enough for them to overtake Carlos [Sainz] and bring home one of the most dominant performances we’ve had as a team since 2010 or 2013.”

After the Belgian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing still holds the top spot in the constructors’ world championship with 475 points scored so far this season, 118 points ahead of Ferrari with only eight races remaining.

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