Red Bull tilted RB18 development toward Max after Baku talks
Christian Horner, the former Red Bull team principal, has acknowledged that Max Verstappen’s representatives pressed the team in 2022 to align car development with the driver’s preferences rather than those of Sergio Pérez. The remarks came during an appearance on the
High Performance podcast, where Horner discussed his tenure, the dynamics between his two drivers and the decisions that shaped one of the most dominant periods in modern Formula 1.
A trusted source reported the comments on 18 October 2026, and they offer a rare, first-hand description of how internal politics can influence engineering priorities inside a championship-winning organisation.
Horner Confirms Pressure From Verstappen’s Management
According to the report, Horner made the admission while promoting his book. He explained that Verstappen’s camp raised concerns about the direction of the 2022 car at a point when Pérez was performing strongly. The Mexican driver had taken pole position in Jeddah, won the Monaco Grand Prix and, for a short period early in the season, sat close to the championship leader in the standings. For a team built around a title challenge, that proximity carried obvious significance.
Horner also recalled the terms he set out when Pérez first joined. He said he told the driver that the team existed to win a world championship with Verstappen as its lead driver, that Pérez was free to win races on merit, and that he would be asked to support his team-mate when he was not in contention. According to Horner, Pérez accepted those conditions because the seat represented a rare opportunity to drive for a front-running team.
Why the RB18 Suited Sergio Pérez
Horner traced the car’s character back to work done a year earlier. During the 2021 season, Red Bull concentrated its main resources on beating Mercedes in a ferocious title fight, so much of the early simulation work on the 2022 machine fell to reserve driver Alex Albon. Horner described that contribution as impressive and said the car ended up closely matched to Albon’s more classical driving style, which he said was probably closer to that of Pérez or Daniel Ricciardo.
The result, Horner said, was a car with pronounced understeer that Verstappen disliked at the start of 2022. Pérez, benefiting from its predictability, was suddenly competitive, and the two drivers each won a race in the opening phase of the season.
Horner’s account suggests the early-season picture was less about driver deficiency than about the fit between a specific car and a specific driving technique, a distinction that matters when assessing the Mexican’s season.
The Baku Conversation That Changed Direction
The pivotal moment, as Horner remembers it, came around the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in June 2022, shortly after Pérez’s Monaco victory, with his contract renewal already announced. Horner recalled sitting down with Verstappen’s representative, who told him: “You’ve developed this car around Checo. You need to follow what Max needs.” Horner described the message as unmistakably clear.
From that point, Horner said, evolutions to the RB18 centred on Verstappen’s preferences, and Pérez’s performance was no longer the same. Verstappen went on to claim the 2022 world championship with 15 victories, while Pérez finished third in the standings.
Horner presented the change of emphasis as the correct decision rather than a regrettable one, an interpretation that sits comfortably with how elite teams typically manage resources when a title is at stake.
Max Verstappen as Red Bull’s Main Asset
Horner was candid about the logic. Verstappen, he said, was Red Bull’s main asset and the driver most likely to deliver victories, which meant any engineering department would naturally lean toward its quickest driver. In his view, a team gravitates toward whoever can produce the best result, and that principle applied to Red Bull as it would to any rival.
Pérez has described the same environment from the other side. Speaking on the same podcast earlier this year, he said Red Bull’s priorities were built around his team-mate and that upgrades tended to widen the gap between them.
Those accounts, reported by Motorsport.com and other outlets, align closely with Horner’s version, though they come from two parties with different perspectives on events that both men experienced directly.
What the Admission Means for Red Bull’s Legacy
The admission arrives at a sensitive moment for Red Bull, which no longer employs Horner as team principal. Observers have long debated whether the team’s internal hierarchy favoured Verstappen at the expense of his team-mates, and Horner’s comments add a first-hand data point to that discussion rather than settling it entirely.
Red Bull ultimately won both titles in 2022, which Horner’s framing implies justified the strategic choice, although the counterfactual outcome of a different development path cannot ever be known with any real certainty by outside observers.
For readers, the key lesson is how engineering philosophy and driver management intersect. A car developed around one driver’s technique can elevate that driver, while a mid-season change in direction can quickly alter the competitive balance between team-mates. Horner’s description of the RB18 shows that those shifts can occur within a single season and can be influenced by conversations well outside the engineering office.
This report draws on multiple sources coverage of Horner’s High Performance podcast interview, supported by earlier reporting on Pérez’s comments on the same programme. Quotations are attributed as reported.
ALSO READ: Horner Confesses Pressuring Masi in Abu Dhabi 2021
The timing of the Azerbaijan conversation reflects Horner’s recollection rather than documentary evidence, and his remarks were made during a book promotion, where retrospective framing is common.
No response from Verstappen’s representatives appeared in the coverage reviewed. AutodromeF1 will update this article if the full podcast transcript or any official reply adds further clarification.
Follow us
Never Miss an F1 Update!
Join the AutodromeF1 Formula 1 community for real-time race commentary, paddock news, and 2026 calendar updates across your favorite platforms: