"It’s really indicative of the determination, dedication and hard work" - Red Bull's lead in 2022 F1 season has exceeded Christian Horner's 'wildest dreams'

Christian Horner claims Red Bull's impressive lead in the 2022 F1 season has exceeded his 'wildest dreams.' The Milton-Keynes-based team currently leads Ferrari by 82-points in the constructors' championship, making it a World Constructors' Championship favorite.

The team seems to have overcome the reliability issues it was facing at the start of the 2022 season and has since won eight races, with Max Verstappen holding a 63-point lead over rival Charles Leclerc in the Driver Standings. The Austrian team has been extremely dominant so far in 2022 after Verstappen won the 2021 drivers' title against his then-rival Lewis Hamilton.

Red Bull nailed the aerodynamic regulation changes that were introduced at the beginning of the year, proving itself to be a title contender from the get-go.

Christian Horner told the Dutch wing of Motorsport.com:

“If you had told me before Christmas last year that with the biggest rule change in 40 years and with the energy we put into last year’s championship we would now have eight wins, two sprint wins and leads of 63 and 82 points in the championship, it would have exceeded my wildest dreams.”

The Red Bull team principal continued:

“It’s really indicative of the determination, dedication and hard work behind the scenes at the factory. We see a very competitive Ferrari this year and we see Mercedes building momentum. But when you consider we were the last team to put the focus entirely on this year, we’ve done a phenomenal job.”

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Red Bull's Max Verstappen not underestimating Ferrari despite winning 2022 French GP

Max Verstappen picked up another win at the 2022 F1 French GP, but it was certainly not a given earlier in the race. At one point, the Red Bull driver was part of an intense battle with Charles Leclerc and was forced to pull the trigger and change tires. If it wasn't for the crash suffered by the Ferrari driver, Max Verstappen was destined for an intense battle for the win.

The Dutchman refuses to underestimate his rival team, who he believes has made improvements when it comes to its tire degradation. The reigning world champion also acknowledged Ferrari's raw pace at the halfway point of the season. The 24-year-old told the media in a post-GP press conference:

“They probably, of course, learned quite a lot but then also, you know, people are bringing upgrades and sometimes that also helps tyre degradation. Today, even with them sliding around a bit, they were still very quick in front of us. It just shows that they have a very quick car, and yeah, from our side we know that we have to find – especially over one lap – quite a bit of performance. But you know, we’ll be working on it.’’

While many claim that Red Bull is going to run away with both titles, it is worth keeping in mind that there are still 10 races to go in the 2022 season, leaving plenty of time for a fierce battle between the two mammoth teams.