F1 news: Christian Horner issues STARK warning to Red Bull

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Horner issues STARK warning to Red Bull

Christian Horner is aware that rivals will close the gap to Red Bull throughout the season

Shay Rogers

Thursday 7 March 2024 19:57

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Christian Horner has warned that ‘challenging’ times lie ahead for his Red Bull team.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez combined to secure an emphatic 1-2 in the Sakhir desert, going almost completely unchallenged throughout the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

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Adrian Newey’s aggressive winter developments have helped them to retain a significant advantage over their rivals – one that will take a while to close down and another victory is expected as F1 rolls into Saudi Arabia this weekend.

It seems that Ferrari are closest to challenging them in the short-term, but they have to find more race pace if they are to sustain any attack on Red Bull supremacy.

The Red Bull RB20 holds a sizeable advantage

Max Verstappen has won eight F1 races in a row

Horner: This season will be a lot more challenging

Speaking about the team’s progress and prospective hopes he shared a reserved view on what lies ahead for them.

“it’s a long season, many different venues, different challenges, different conditions,” he said. “And what we saw in the testing is that things are closer.

Christian Horner is the CEO and team principal of Red Bull Racing

“I have the feeling the field is going to concertina this year. So, I don’t think you can take anything for granted [after] one race on a specific surface, specific conditions.

“And I have a feeling that this season will be a lot more challenging on-track than last season.”

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix should see the field close in on Red Bull, with the high degradation surface of Bahrain no longer set to plague the reigning champions' rivals.

It likely won’t be enough to prevent Max Verstappen from winning his ninth race in a row, but it could be enough to disrupt his charge towards pole position.