Red Bull team boss Christian Horner doesn’t believe Valtteri Bottas has a fair shot at the title, especially this season, as Mercedes ‘obviously’ favours Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton is set to match Michael Schumacher’s record tally of seven titles, a feat nobody thought would ever be achieved again.
Although Horner reckons Max Verstappen still has an outside shot at beating Hamilton, he doesn’t believe Bottas will be able to challenge the Briton given the situation at Mercedes.
“Max is ahead of Valtteri [in the points] and it’s obvious Mercedes favour Lewis,” said Horner. “You see it on strategy, the positioning of the cars and so on.
“Why wouldn’t they have put Bottas on a two-stop, for example, in Spa, that would have given him the opportunity to win the race.
“The problem is that everything is geared towards Lewis this year on his record-equalling campaign. The reality for Valtteri is that unless he qualifies ahead, he hasn’t got a chance.”
Hamilton now has a 47-point advantage over second-placed Verstappen, whilst Mercedes are 106 points ahead in the Constructors’ Championship, but Horner still believes they’re in the title fight.
“We are very much the outsiders. Hamilton and Mercedes have been the favourites for both titles, as they were coming into this season, but 2020 is a funny old year and there is still a long way to go as we aren’t even at the halfway point yet.
“We never give up and we treat every race like a cup final and we are in a position whereby we have nothing to lose.”
