Horner insists Red Bull not complacent despite domination

Red Bull Racing principal Christian Horner says there is no risk that the team could grow complacent as a result of its unprecedented run of success over the last two seasons.

The squad has won every race so far in 2023 to build up a run of 13 back-to-back race wins with Max Verstappen claiming 11 of them and Sergio Perez contributing victories in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.

Red Bull won all but one race since last year's French Grand Prix, the exception being George Russell's surprise victory in the Brazilian GP in the penultimate race of last season.

And more than that, Verstappen's domination in recent races has seen him take victory by up to half a minute over the rest of the field, including his team mate Perez.

With that sort of level of domination, it would be understandable if Verstappen and the team were temped to ease off and coast their way to the end of the season where an inevitable third consecutive title for Verstappen awaits.

But Horner insists that no one in the team is taking such a view, and that they will continue to push in order to keep up the momentum going into next year's championship.

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"I think we're very much taking it one race at a time, one session at a time," Horner insisted. "And I think you have to focus like that.

"Nobody's allowing their mind to drift," he added. "It's a long, long championship.

"The challenges are always different, because when you're the hunter you've got everybody focussed on the target ahead of you," he pointed out. "When you suddenly become the hunted, it's a different type of pressure."

He said there was plenty to keep people focused. "There's a lot going on behind the scenes with Red Bull Powertrains as that's gearing up as well in the background in Milton Keynes, with 2026 not being all that far away now."

The biggest headache for Horner is trying to keep his technical and managerial team together, as their success spurs approaches from rival teams trying to poach Red Bull's top talent.

The most recent high profile departure from Milton Keynes is 17-year veteran Rob Marshall, who will start work at McLaren in the new year as engineering and design technical director.

"Of course, we have numerous approaches from all these guys, chasing all our staff, sponsors, you name it," Horner acknowledged. "Getting to the top is one thing, staying there is another.

"But I think the spirit, the culture that we have within the team; we've got great strength in depth and have enjoyed great continuity over a long period of time, which again is so important in this business."

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