Red Bull boss Christian Horner hopes rival F1 fans CRY at Austrian Grand Prix

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has admitted that he's hoping to leave rival F1 fans in tears at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.

McLaren have had a massive fan presence at most races this year, but the orange-clad fans in Spielberg are going to look like a sea of monarch butterflies with flares for a different reason.

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They're Max Verstappen fans! The reigning champion's Dutch fans turn out to his team's home race in their thousands, eclipsing the papaya punters in the stands.

Horner said this weekend that Austria is 'like a home race' for the team, an oddly hands-off description of a track which the team owns in the country that Red Bull was founded and is based.

Horner: We want McLaren fans to cry

"Austria is like a home race for us," he said between practice sessions. "And finally, there aren't as many McLaren fans here as elsewhere. Our goal is to make those who are there cry on Sunday because we were better."

Practice has suggested that he may be disappointed come Sunday evening, with McLaren dominating the timing sheets and Verstappen coming in behind rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

However, Verstappen's historic dominance at the circuit and the fact that he beat Piastri into third place last time out in Canada (where Norris was running behind his team-mate, until he ran too close to him) should provide some small sparks of hope.

"Max is having an incredible year, he's driving brilliantly," Horner added. "We have an update here in Spielberg and will get another one in Silverstone. And updates are also being planned for races 15 and 16. Sometimes it can help if you only improve by half a tenth."

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