Horner: Our data correlation like telling time on two different watches

Horner has previously described Red Bull's current wind tunnel facility as a relic of the Cold War, and while the team is building a new one, it will not be ready before 2027.

Max Verstappen, despite winning in Japan, had a weekend of awakening in Bahrain, where he finished sixth, suffering from his RB21 as well as problems with Red Bull's strategy and pitstops.

Explaining how Red Bull had a winning car in Japan and a terrible one in Bahrain, Horner said: "Ultimately you can mask it [the problem] a little through set-up, and we were able to achieve that in Suzuka.

"But I think this race [in Bahrain] has exposed some pitfalls that obviously very clearly that we have that we need to get on top of very quickly.

"I think we understand where the issues are," he claimed. "It's introducing the solutions that obviously take a little more time. I think the problems are understood.

"I think the problem is that the solutions with what we see within our tools compared to what we're seeing on track at the moment aren't correlating, and I think that's what we need to get to the bottom of: why can we not see within our tools what we're seeing on the circuit?

“When you end up with a disconnect like that, you have to obviously unpick it. We've got a strong technical team that have produced some amazing cars over the last few years, and I'm confident that they'll get to the bottom of this issue.

"But it's literally the tool isn't replicating with what we're seeing on the track, and then it's at that point, it's like telling the time on two different watches," Horner said.

As it turned out, Red Bull's current plight with their RB21 is similar to what happened to them back in 2024 when their wind tunnel data sent them down a rabbit hole, which apparently they haven't managed to come out of yet.

Horner explained: "It's similar—primarily the wind tunnel has driven us in a direction that isn't replicating what we're on track and so, then you end up with a mishmash between what your tools are telling you and what the track data is, and so obviously now as we're accumulating track data, it's the track data that's driving the solutions.

"I think it's clear we understand what the problem is; it's implementing the solution. It's the entry phase into the mid-corner that needs addressing and giving him [Verstappen] the ability and grip and confidence that takes carry speed into entry of corners, now that's fundamentally an aero issue that we need to be able to give him that grip.

"The problem that we have is that we're at the end of a set of regulations where the gains are very, very marginal, and I think we're seeing some of the shortcomings in our current tunnel," he lamented.

As for the solution?

Horner added: "We have a new tunnel coming online for '27, but we have the current tool certainly for another 18 months or so. The new one is currently ahead of schedule but would be for implementation in 2027.

"It's a 24-race championship; we're eight points behind in the drivers' championship, and we know we need to make progress very quickly.

"So it was important to score points… It's how they add up at the end of the year that's important," the Red Bull TP concluded.

Verstappen is currently third in the 2025 F1 drivers' championship, eight points behind leader Lando Norris. Oscar Piastri is second, five points ahead of the Dutchman.

(Quotes from Motorsport.com)