Red Bull boss Christian Horner admits that his team’s run of dominance in Formula 1 has been made even sweeter due to toppling Mercedes’ run of titles.
The Austrian team have been a revelation since they bought Jaguar Racing and joined the sport in 2005.
They enjoyed four consecutive championships with Sebastian Vettel from 2010-2013 before ending Mercedes run of seven drivers titles in a row with Max Verstappen in 2021.
Red Bull has won all seven races so far in 2023, much to the dismay of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff who said Verstappen’s admirable domination “pisses him off.”
Horner said Red Bull’s performance is all down to hard work: “We spent seven years trying to get back into a winning position, and losing hurts,” he said. “I think that we’ve worked very hard to get into this position.
“I think the whole team as a unit, and it’s not just Max, it’s the whole team is just operating at such a high level that we have a phenomenal car.
“We’ve got two great drivers and Max is just continuing to evolve as a driver. He is just becoming more and more polished, and the capacity that he has within the car is truly impressive.”
Asked if he drew satisfaction from Wolff’s comments, he said: “To be honest, I don’t pay a great deal of attention to it. I think that what matters is the score sheet at the end of the day and that’s looking pretty healthy.”
The Englishman outlined how much Red Bull’s success meant to the team.
“We are hugely proud of it,” he said. “It just means that much more – we were there, then we were down, and then we fought back to being there again.
“Every member of the team has played such a crucial role in this performance, and F1 is one of the most competitive sports in the world and to be operating at the level that we are is something that you have to celebrate.”
Horner also said that Verstappen and the Milton Keynes-based team have a lot of work to do to wrap up both world titles this season and nothing is won yet.
“You will always get somebody say something like that,” he said. “Anything can happen. I think that both the championships are looking really healthy at the moment, our focus is now on Montreal, and that will be trying to get our 100th victory.
“After that it’ll be the home race in Austria, after that will be the other home race in Silverstone. It just rolls on, and you go from event to event and don’t allow yourself to be thinking too far down the line.”
