“Not taking anything for granted,” Christian Horner is cautious about ‘big updates’ from Ferrari and Mercedes
Red Bull won the first three races of the 2023 season.
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Christian Horner. Image via Daily Express.
Three races down, and twenty more to go, the 2023 F1 season has witnessed the unrivaled dominance of Red Bull and the situation is not expected to change anytime soon. The team won the first three races of the 2023 Formula 1 season. Max Verstappen won the Bahrain GP and the Australian GP. His teammate, Sergio Perez, triumphed in Jeddah. One would think the team has nothing to worry about. The other teams on the grid are astounded by the pace of the RB19. However, there is one man who remains cautious. It is none other than Christian Horner.
Red Bull’s pace was the talk of the paddock after the first few rounds. Verstappen recovered from 15th to second place in just half the race at the Saudi Arabian GP. The Dutchman had a technical failure and was eliminated from the first segment of qualifying. Lewis Hamilton called the RB19 “the fastest car he had ever seen.” Despite the consistent wins in the first three rounds, team boss Christian Horner feels things might change once Ferrari and Mercedes bring updates.
Ferrari and Mercedes are most likely to bring major upgrades to the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix that will be held from May 19th to 21st. Horner told Sky Sports, “There’s a lot of things that can change. We’re hearing of big updates coming for both Ferrari and Mercedes when we get back to Europe. So we’re certainly not taking anything for granted, we’re just focused on ourselves, doing the best job we can within the constraints that we have”.
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Christian Horner feels the cost cap penalty is “tough”
Christian Horner further added, “We’re doing the best that we can with what we’ve got and we know that it’s a tough penalty, it’s one that we’re taking on the chin and we’re applying ourselves in the best way that we possibly can.” Red Bull’s penalty due to the cost cap might have an impact on their performance. However, many F1 personalities do not think it would affect them much.
The new regulations were implemented to close the gaps between the F1 teams and level the playing field. Though it has worked out among the mid-field teams, Red Bull looks dominant. The team began the season in the best way possible. But Christian Horner expects to see progress and the grid to close up in the upcoming races. The Red Bull team principal also believes there is a competitive race between his two drivers.
Horner mentioned that there is no doubt there will be heavy competition as they enter the European season and bring updates. Last season Ferrari and Mercedes competed with Red Bull for wins. Fast forward to the 2023 season, and there are no teams on par with Red Bull. Ferrari suffered from reliability issues, and Mercedes did not have the pace to match the RB19. However, it is still early to say whether Horner is downplaying Red Bull’s true potential.
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Sugantha Meena
(493 Articles Published)