Red Bull must be “on top of our game in every area” to beat Mercedes - Horner
Red Bull must be “on top of our game in every area” to beat Mercedes - Horner
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes the team will have to be on top of its game in “every area” if it is to stand a chance of beating Mercedes to the title this season.
The title challenger has taken two hits from Lewis Hamilton in three races so far, despite starting the season as favourites to finally take the title away from seven-time champions Mercedes.
Although the season remains in its infancy, Horner said: “They’re a phenomenal team, you don’t win seven consecutive world titles by mistake. We’ve got to be on top of our game in every area to beat a team like that.
“We’re starting to get a picture of our strengths and weaknesses. What we can see across every session is that it’s incredibly tight. The biggest winner from that is Formula One and if it goes like that for 23 races it’s going to be nip and tuck.”
Mercedes secured a front-row lock-out for last Sunday’s Portuguese Grand Prix and Hamilton out-paced Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to claim his second victory of the season, putting himself eight points clear in the title race.
However, Verstappen was able to get past Valtteri Bottas to claim second place, assuring himself of his best-ever start to a world championship campaign, and Horner believes the season will be down to how each team develops its car.
The pair will be back fighting again in Barcelona next weekend and Horner said: “You can see Mercedes and Red Bull are the two standout teams and Lewis and Max are the two stand out drivers.
“I think leaving here we’ve had decent performance at a track where we finished 30 seconds behind last year. To have split the Mercedes at a circuit like this actually bodes really well for us.
“Starting third, finishing second, Max did a great job. Generally, it’s all about marginal gains and it’s very tight between ourselves and Mercedes which is very encouraging.
“I think it’s just going to be really tight in the development race between the two teams over the course of the year.”
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Norris INJURED at party with legendary DJ
- 36 minutes ago
Newey tipped to POACH key Red Bull staff if he joins F1 rivals
- 1 hour ago
F1 paddock favourite admits immense DOUBTS over Verstappen Red Bull future
- 2 hours ago
Hamilton F1 rival makes SURPRISE claim about Ferrari move
- 3 hours ago
Schumacher names shock F1 star to replace Hulkenberg at Haas
- Today 15:57
Hamilton in Arsenal title wish after STUNNING revelation
- Today 15:05
Related news
Ricciardo makes five-race admission in bid to survive F1 axe
Red Bull is 'burning' after Horner and Marko display
Verstappen 'to meet Mercedes over SHOCK 2025 move as Red Bull exit clause revealed'
Newey exit DATE revealed as Red Bull F1 chief set to leave
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860