Mercedes has failed to achieve a race victory throughout the entire 2023 season. This is the first time the Brackley-based team has not won a single time all season since 2011, 12 years ago. Mercedes failed to completely incorporate the sufficient upgrades to compete at the front for the second year in a row, impairing the team’s confidence.

The eight-time Constructors’ Champions are led by billionaire CEO and Team Principal of Mercedes Toto Wolff. The Austrian has been with the Silver Arrows for most of its time in the sport, leading them to unprecedented success from 2014 to 2021. However, during a slump for Mercedes, Christian Horner had advice for his 51-year-old colleague.

Horner said that after unbridled success for such a long period of time, following it up with disappointing results could cause loss of faith in leadership. The Red Bull boss added that it’s a wholly different challenge fight back to the top after a dip in form.

He came into the sport on the back of a winning team and enjoyed a huge period of success, serial success for seven or eight years and then suddenly, it’s a big adjustment to not be going to grands prix…and I think Mercedes have won one race in the last two seasons. And that will hurt and people start questioning things in the organisation, heads drop and as a leader, you have to motivate them, you have to pick them up.

Christian Horner said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast.

Toto Wolff and Christian Horner are longtime nemeses, their rivalry peaking with the 2021 World Championship that ended under controversial circumstances. Wolff and Horner have since considered each other with slight apprehension as seen in their statements. Mercedes has not been able to bring the fight back to Red Bull to continue where they left off in 2021, especially when Red Bull embarked on their dominant 2022 and 2023 campaigns.

Christian Horner expresses confidence in Sergio Perez’s Red Bull future

Sergio Perez has had a bittersweet time with the top squad in Formula One. The Mexican’s time with Red Bull has earned him five race victories over three years, two of them in 2023 alone. However, Perez has failed to outperform or even match the dominant Max Verstappen throughout his Red Bull career, being unable to compete for a championship in both 2022 and 2023 with the best car.

Perez had an especially difficult 2023 season despite the two race victories, with a terrible qualifying record and substandard race results with arguably the most dominant car in history. However, Christian Horner showed confidence in the 33-year-old’s future performance albeit his mediocre 2023 season. Horner said Perez is known not to crack under pressure, and just needs to put more effort into consistent results to earn an extension in the Red Bull seat.

I think he just needs to work hard to achieve consistency. But, you know, it’s a tough gig being Max’s team-mate.Time and time again, he’s bounced back when he’s been under pressure, a bit under criticism from the media.

Christian Horner said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast

The 2025 Red Bull seat is hugely disputed, with F1 returnee Daniel Ricciardo tipped as the favourite to occupy it. Sergio Perez and Yuki Tsunoda are the less likely candidates for the very sought-after spot. Max Verstappen will prove an extremely difficult teammate to whoever does partner him for 2025, only having been beaten in the same car once, by Ricciardo himself.

In case you missed it:

• Christian Horner reveals “60%” of the dominant  Red Bull RB-19 traces back to the 2022 car
• Lando Norris wins the prestigious Lorenzo Bandini Trophy named after the late Ferrari legend

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW