Red Bull boss Christian Horner is unsure whether the improved speed Mercedes showed across Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix weekend was “genuine or a one-off”.
Mercedes had lagged behind the leading three teams in the opening rounds, but upgrades to its W15 car have inspired an upturn that made it a contender in Montreal.
The German marque delivered on blistering pace in practice to take pole position with George Russell, while the Briton was adamant errors cost him a shot at the win.
But although Russell claimed Mercedes’ renewed pace will be prevalent in the upcoming rounds, Horner is more cautious when it comes to assessing its rival’s threat.
“Mercedes have always gone well on green circuits and there are no real high-speed corners here,” Horner explained.
“So with the asphalt change, it played possibly to their strengths. So let’s see over the next three tracks if it is genuine form or if it’s a one-off.”
Horner also took the chance to take aim at comments from Mercedes Technical Director James Allison, who argued that Red Bull’s updates had been “downgrades”.
“Even with our downgrade, we managed to beat their upgrade,” he quipped. “It was a rewarding race to win.”
But with Horner arguing McLaren also blew a chance to win through a strategic mistake, he has insisted Red Bull must continue improving to remain the benchmark.
He highlighted the kerb-riding problem that has become exposed as one vital area it is striving to address, despite the issue set to be less penalising in coming races.
“The last couple of races have been more choppy waters for us, but we have still managed to win two out of the last three races,” he added.
“We had a pole in Imola, we managed to match the pole time here with a car that both drivers are feeling its deficiencies. So there is a lot of focus on that to see if we can improve that.
“We know there are circuits later in the year like Singapore where it [ride issues] could be a factor.
“But we really expect Ferrari, McLaren – and Mercedes who came into that window this weekend – to be competitive at every circuit.
“So I think despite having won six of the nine races – we are going to have to be top of our game to keep eking out a gap.”
