Horner facing "50-50" dilemma in Red Bull Mercedes title fight

Christian Horner believes it is a "50-50" call as to whether the remaining seven races favour either Red Bull or Mercedes this F1 season.

With Qatar now confirmed on the calendar this year, the two teams and drivers Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen can plan accordingly for the final two and a half months of the campaign.

The next race is Turkey, followed by a trip to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, an exhausting triple-header of Mexico, Brazil and Qatar, before concluding with a Saudi Arabia-Abu Dhabi double-header in December.

At present, just two points separate championship leader Lewis Hamilton from title rival Max Verstappen, with Mercedes 33 points clear of Red Bull in the constructors' standings.

Red Bull emerged from two Mercedes' strongholds in Monza and Russia having limited the damage, but now it is a close call as to which team and driver will hold sway.

"I don’t think there are any circuits that stand out as strongly as Russia and Monza, but for sure Mercedes will be strong," assessed Horner.

"They won in Turkey last year, so they will be strong there. But then Austin we should be there or thereabouts, and Brazil, Mexico we’ve always been strong.

"We don’t know anything about Qatar, we don’t know anything about Jeddah, and then Abu Dhabi, so you could say it’s 50-50 as to what’s left on the table of which favours slightly one more than the other."

Horner, Verstappen and Red Bull left the Sochi Autodrom proclaiming the Dutch driver's second place behind Hamilton as akin to "a victory" given his drive from last on the grid after taking an engine penalty.

"If anyone had offered us that prior to the weekend we would have bitten their arm off," added Horner.

"So, to have achieved that, to come away from two Mercedes strongholds with only a two-point deficit in the drivers’ championship is hugely encouraging. And with seven to go, it’s all to play for."

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