Christian Horner has refuted Mercedes' allegations that the recent updates to Red Bull's racing car actually represented a "downgrade."
Max Verstappen triumphed at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, though George Russell of Mercedes and McLaren's Lando Norris appeared strong contenders for the win in the unpredictable race conditions.
"You don't want these kind of races all the time because it's too stressful," commented the three-time world champion with a grin.
The era of Red Bull's supremacy appears to be fading, sparking debates about the reasons – whether it's just a natural balancing in the third season of the 2022 rules or the obvious issues within the team.
"These messy weekends are not what we are used to from Red Bull," observed ex-team driver Robert Doornbos.
"They have mechanical problems and setup problems."
Formula 1 icon Jean Alesi expressed concern that Red Bull might be feeling the absence of Adrian Newey's guidance already.
"My feeling is that, without Newey, Red Bull is like an orchestra, like La Scala in Milan, but without the conductor," Alesi remarked.
James Allison, the technical head at Mercedes, suggested that Red and Bull's technical facilities, including the wind tunnel and simulators, might be faltering.
"No, absolutely not," countered Red Bull's Horner. "All the updates that were implemented have their place on the car. It's just that there are a lot of cars on the grid now that are similar to ours, and I regard it as healthy competition."
However, the spotlight is also shining brightly on Sergio Perez, who had a challenging weekend in Canada despite recently signing a new two-year contract with the team.
"Checo cannot adapt as well as Max when the car is not optimal," Horner explained. "But we need two drivers who score points if we want to win the constructors' championship."
Red Bull consultant Dr. Helmut Marko even acknowledged that another team might currently have a stronger driver lineup.
"Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at McLaren," he mentioned, praising their coordination and drive. "They are young and they are hungry, and at the moment they get along and work well together."
Ex-F1 driver Christijan Albers believes that Horner might have had other considerations for keeping Perez, tied to internal team dynamics.
"I have the feeling that with this power struggle, Christian Horner thinks 'ok, I have to ensure that we have peace in the team now', but this was not the right choice," Albers told Viaplay.
"He should have left the driver decision to Helmut Marko."
