'Red Bull still has a chance to catch up,' says Horner

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner believes his team still has a chance to bridge the gap with front-runners Ferrari and Mercedes.

The Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona next weekend will see the Milton-Keynes outfit bring  an RB13 chassis featuring a massive upgrade package in a bid to improve its performance.

Engine partner Renault is delaying indefinitely a power unit update of its own however, but Horner is still confident of seeing a meaningful step forward in performance.

"The new regulations are still very immature and we will definitely get stronger," he told Red Bull's Speed Week.

"Obviously Ferrari and Mercedes have been better than us so far, but we've tried to keep the damage within limits. We still have our chances to catch up."

• Verstappen excited to return to scene of maiden win

Red Bull's relatively low key start this season has left Daniel Ricciardo understandably frustrated, as the Honey Badger was banking on racing at the front this year.

The Aussie is rumored to be open to a change of scenery for 2018 but Horner hasn't seen any changes in his driver's attitude.

"I cannot see a difference between the Ricciardo now and the Daniel I know from past years," Horner said.

"Of course he wants to be competitive but he isn't moaning. The 2015 season was much more frustrating for him.

"I am convinced that we have the most exciting driver pairing in the sport," he added.

Finally, despite his team's  current inability to mix it up at the front, Horner is happy to see Mercedes' dominance successfully challenged y Ferrari.

"It's great for the sport. Formula one has a new winner in Valtteri Bottas, we've had four races where beforehand no one could have predicted with certainty who would win.

"Three winners in four Grands Prix -- may it continue," he concluded.

Win the ULTIMATE TRACKDAY with F1i.com!

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter