Red Bull has "petrol in our tanks" after ending Mercedes' F1 "annihilation"

Red Bull

Red Bull has "petrol in our tanks" after ending Mercedes' F1 "annihilation"

Red Bull leads both F1 championships for the first time since 2013

Ewan Gale

Thursday 1 July 2021 09:30

Christian Horner believes Red Bull's return to winning ways has put "petrol in everybody's tank" having ended Mercedes' "annihilation" of F1.

After seven years of Mercedes winning everything the sport has to offer, Red Bull has put together a stunning start to the season to take charge of both drivers' and constructors' championships.

Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Horner suggested the battle was good for the sport and hopes the fight lasts for the entire campaign.

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"It has been a while [since challenging] but this is what we have been working for and to go to races knowing you have got the chance of winning, it just puts petrol in everybody's tank," he said.

"The whole factory and the whole team is fully motivated and loving this competition. Let's see where it ends up.

"Mercedes, let's not forget, has won everything for seven years and it has been seven long years so to get ourselves back into a competitive position and to give our drivers a competitive car, particularly with a pandemic over the last 18 months and so on is fantastic.

"I think it is good for us, it is good for the sport and I hope it goes all the way down to the wire."

Red Bull has "wind in our sails"

Red Bull is the only team other than Mercedes to win an F1 title since 2010, having had four years of success with Sebastian Vettel between 2010 and 2013.

Asked how badly he had missed the feeling of winning, Horner joked: "It is so long ago I can't remember how it felt the last time.

"We went through an incredibly successful patch for four years. At the time, everyone was saying 'you guys are dominating everything and it is boring'. You remember that two of those championships went to the final race against Fernando in 2010 and 2012.

"What we have seen since then has been... not domination, it has been annihilation.

"We have won races in pretty much every year since but they have had to be opportunistic wins at circuits that have suited us or through clever strategy or thinking on our feet.

"But to put a sustained campaign together, it just puts a lot of wind in our sails and we have missed that winning feeling. You can feel it in the team."