F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Horner: Red Bull still not 'at an optimum' with regs and tyres

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says his team has yet to extract the most from this year's rule changes but insisted the Milton Keynes-based outfit had taken a step forward in Barcelona.

In Spain, Max Verstappen stepped onto the podium for the second time this season, and while the Dutchman was outpaced on Sunday by the dominant Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, the Red Bull driver comprehensively beat both Ferrari chargers.

According to Horner, Mercedes has done a better job than its rivals in understanding this season's rule changes centered around larger front and rear wings and Pirelli's thinner tread tyres.

The Silver Arrows squad's advantage was especially apparent in Barcelona's final third sector comprised of a mix of medium and slow-speed corners.

"Mercedes have done a very good job in extracting performance from the car in that part of the circuit," said Horner.

"I think that we are not at our optimum yet in terms of where we’d like to be with these new regulations and construction of tyres.

"This weekend was a step forward and hopefully more will follow."

Seen from Verstappen's own vantage point, the current edge enjoyed by Mercedes' car is predominant everywhere.

"We’re not really better in any corner than Mercedes," said the Dutchman.

"It’s good, it’s not that it’s a bad car, but at the moment the Mercedes is just quicker than us everywhere.

©RedBull

"Medium-speed, high-speed is pretty similar but that depends a lot on the downforce levels you’re running every single weekend so it’s a bit difficult to say.

"On this track, they were very strong in the low-speed corners. And that is normally pretty good for Monaco as well."

Horner believes the team's productive weekend in Barcelona indicated that it had bridged the gap and perhaps overhauled Ferrari in F1's pecking order.

"We had an aggressive [two-stop] strategy but we had the pace obviously to beat the Ferraris," said the Brit.

"Considering where we were in the pre-season test eight, nine weeks ago, I think to have caught that gap, to have got that performance on the car, is really encouraging.

"Obviously now we have to try and focus on diminishing the gap further to Mercedes."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

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