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Max Verstappen took the lead in the 2022 F1 championship with his third win of the season last weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, however, is certain that the reigning world champion is not "unbeatable".
The Dutchman has won every single race in which he has made it to the checkered flag this season, but Horner is very clear that their competitors at Ferrari are strong enough to put up quite a challenge. As reported by RacingNews365, the Briton said:
“No, Max [Verstappen] is certainly not unbeatable. The competitors are very strong. We had our moments. Every race we won was at the absolute limit. It’s a shame we couldn’t see the race between Charles [Leclerc] and Max today, because it would have been very exciting.”
Horner then went on to reason out his belief, saying:
“It shows how quickly things can change. After Australia we were 40 points behind and now, a few races later, we are 6 points ahead. Ferrari has a fast car so the points advantage may change again soon. And that’s why I’m not writing off Mercedes either if you look at the number of points that are still available. With Mercedes back off the road, the Monaco Grand Prix will be fascinating. Max is driving extremely well and Sergio [Perez] is doing a great job, but I expect it to be an exciting battle throughout the season.”
Meanwhile, with their second 1-2 finish of the season, Red Bull have taken the lead in the constructors' standings with a 26-point gap to Ferrari.
Max Verstappen admits Ferrari have taken a "step forward" with Spanish GP upgrades
While Max Verstappen managed to make it to the top step of the podium in Barcelona, he undoubtedly had a tough race to begin with. Not only did Charles Leclerc get away very well from pole during the race start, but he also managed a comfortable lead before losing power and eventually retiring the car.
In the post-race press conference, the 24-year old admitted that Red Bull have a performance gap to fill, especially given Ferrari's upgrades from last weekend. Verstappen said:
“For sure they [Ferrari] had a really strong weekend and we definitely need to improve. We need to be better over one-lap performance, especially. But I think we were so early on in the race that it was a bit difficult to tell how big the margin was exactly. Because I don’t even know what lap I went off but it was very early on and then we never really had a reference anymore, right. We always have to improve, but for sure, after this weekend, it shows that with all the upgrades they brought I think they definitely took a step forward. So now it’s up to us, of course to try and close that gap down again.”
So far, Max Verstappen has suffered two DNFs this season, while Charles Leclerc had his first at Barcelona.
