Christian Horner concerned as Mercedes and Ferrari rumours threaten Red Bull

17 April 2023 , 12:52

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Christian Horner has a worry in the back of his mind despite Red Bull's dominant start to the season (Image: Getty Images)

His Red Bull team may be running away with the title race so far – but Christian Horner still insists Mercedes and Ferrari can close the gap later in the season.

Rumours circulating the paddock suggest that Mercedes and Ferrari are to make major improvements as the Formula 1 circus reaches Europe for the first time this season. Red Bull currently sit top of the constructors' championship, after Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez won the first three races of the season between them.

However, Horner is refusing to get carried away by the early-season Red Bull dominance as the consequence of their budget cap penalty is still imminent. For overspending in 2021, the FIA slapped Red Bull with a £6m fine as well as a 10 per cent reduction in the number of wind tunnel runs this season.

Despite making early changes to the RB19, the wind tunnel penalty limits Red Bull's chances to make improvements to the car. This could allow Mercedes and Ferrari to catch up to Red Bull as the season progresses, given the are allowed to spend more time on their development.

Horner says the wind tunnel penalty is the reason why he is not taking his team's current position for granted. "Of course, it's painful. It forces us to be efficient and very choosy in the runs that we do," he told Sky Sports. "So yeah, it's just something that we've got to manage."

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He went on to reference that paddock speculation about upcoming upgrades for their rivals, adding: "A lot of things could change. There are rumours of big updates for Mercedes and Ferrari once we get to Europe."

Toto Wolff is pleased with the 'good steps' his Mercedes team is taking (Hasan Bratic/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff fanned the flames of those rumours, and will hope that his team's competitiveness in Melbourne last time out is an indicator that the Silver Arrows are improving. But he went on to admit there will be no significant developments on the W14 just yet.

He said: "We are doing good steps, good developments but you have to run them, confirm them, produce them. So, I think we are not looking for introduction before Imola. We want to do it right."

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc said of his Ferrari team: "We have made some adjustments in terms of balance and behaviour, and it was much better in Melbourne, and we'll continue in this direction."

Anna Malyon