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Red Bull boss Christian Horner feels that the rivalry between his team and Ferrari will heat up as the season progresses.
Last season, there was a lot of competition between Red Bull and Mercedes, with Christian Horner and Toto Wolff going after each other mercilessly. That tension sometimes boiled over on the track, where Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton would clash.
This season, things have been relatively cordial between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. Both drivers have battled it out on the track, but neither has pushed each other's buttons beyond their limits.
Horner feels this will not always be the case, adding that there will come a time when the rivalry is going to heat up between Red Bull and Ferrari.
Horner said:
"Last year there was a lot of needle, a lot going on off track as well as on track, whereas this year seems much more focused about what’s going on on track
"And I think the racing has been great between Charles and Max. And the first four races have been epic. If that continues through the season, inevitably it will boil over at some point as it gets more competitive and the stakes get higher in the second half of the year."
He added:
“But certainly what we’ve seen so far has been very respectful racing – hard racing but fair racing.”
Mercedes will join the party soon: Red Bull
Mercedes have messed up this season, and their car is not really in contention for race wins or the title. The German team's challenger is on average 8-9 tenths slower than the frontrunners, and their radical concept has seemingly not worked until now.
Horner, however, feels that Mercedes will be back in contention soon enough. When asked about where he feels the team will end up, he said:
“I think you will see Mercedes joining that party fairly soon."
Mercedes have snatched a couple of podiums already this season in five races. However, for a team that used to contend for races on a weekly basis, their current struggle is surely a shock to the system.
