Red Bull has conceded that the team is fortunate that McLaren “underperformed” earlier in the 2024 Formula 1 season amid its dominant win in the Dutch Grand Prix.
Lando Norris was supreme throughout the weekend at Zandvoort as he converted a dominant pole position into a commanding 22-second win over Max Verstappen.
McLaren’s upgraded MCL38 proved to be a class apart as Red Bull’s woes continued, reducing the gap in the Constructors’ Championship between them to 30 points.
But while Verstappen continues to harbour a 70-point advantage, Norris producing the greatest winning margin this term has prompted alarm bells to ring at Red Bull.
Horner has acknowledged that Red Bull, which hasn’t been victorious over the last five races, can’t be reliant on Verstappen’s points lead in the remaining nine rounds.
“Based on today’s performance, if it was like that at the next nine races, yes it would be very difficult [in the Drivers’ Championship],” Horner told media including Motorsport Week.
“It’s only the fourth time this year that Max’s points lead has [been] reduced. It’s only Lando’s second win, but we know we have to find performance.
“So we were 78 points, now we’re 70 ahead. We want to make sure that we extend the lead, not see it continue to diminish.”
Norris was made to wait to land his second career F1 win as he had bemoaned squandering multiple opportunities over recent months to add to his maiden success.
Horner has admitted that the McLaren driver’s recurring mistakes before the summer break have been an aid to Verstappen’s chances of seizing a fourth straight title.
“The drivers… we’re lucky that they underperformed at the start of the year, so we’ve got a 70-point buffer but that can diminish pretty quickly,” Horner accepted.
“It’s remarkable that that’s only Lando second win in that car. He’s driving well, he’s finding confidence. The pressure is on us to respond.
“We’re used to being in championship fights over the years, we’ll dig deep and we’re going to fight with everything we’ve got over the remaining races.”
