"It felt a little trigger happy": Red Bull boss gives his take on the multiple red flag stoppages in Australia

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner recently spoke about the chaotic 2023 F1 Australian GP.

The race was stopped three times due to several crashes that took out almost half of the field. While some of the red flag situations were justified, Horner feels that the race directors were too quick to stop the race because of the crashes.

Speaking on The Talking Bulls podcast, Horner explained how he felt frustrated because of all the red flags, especially the last one, after which they restarted the race only for a lap or two. He stated that some of the crashes and debris could have been dealt with under a safety car.

The Red Bull team boss said:

"It was frustrating. I felt that, yeah, it didn't look like there was that much debris on the track. I think if the safety car had been kept out there, they could have cleaned the circuit, and we could have got a couple of laps of racing underway as we've done in previous races."

"But it felt a little trigger-happy to red flag it and then restart just for a lap or two where, you know, the sum was low; there was only ever going to be one outcome from a restart like that, and unfortunately we got it."

Despite all this, Red Bull were still on top, as Max Verstappen won his first race in Australia, while Sergio Perez finished fifth after starting from the pits. The race was frustrating for several drivers and teams, but also great for others.

Carlos Sainz was devastated after receiving a five-second penalty for accidentally ramming into Fernando Alonso during the second race restart. Alpine had a horrendous end to their race as both Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon crashed into each other. McLaren managed to avoid all the chaos and finish in the points.

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Red Bull team boss feels developing RB19 further will be a challenge

Christian Horner reckons further developing the RB19 will be a massive mountain to climb. Red Bull's 2023 challenger is already dominating the field and winning every race with ease.

Horner feels that the development curve could plateau as the season progresses. He said:

"I think it will be very tough for us to develop this car because when you look at the amount of percentage time less we have compared to some of our rivals, it’s significant. But it is what it is. We just have to do the best we can with what we’ve got, be efficient, effective, and selective in what we choose to develop, and how we apportion our time."

Additionally, other teams that are still trying to figure out the perfect concept will have a much steeper development graph compared to Red Bull. Hence, it might not be smooth sailing for the reigning world champions.