Red Bull: Target is to lead Ferrari after Hockenheim

Christian Horner says Red Bull’s immediate target is to enter Formula One’s summer break ahead of Ferrari in the Constructors’ championship.

With one race left before the break - this weekend’s German Grand Prix -, the Milton Keynes-based outfit has closed the gap to the Scuderia to a single point following another convincing performance in Hungary last Sunday.

Horner has set out a clear objective for Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen at Hockenheim, but the Red Bull team principal is aware of the magnitude of the challenge at hand.

“Our target is to try and go into the summer break ahead of Ferrari,” he said. “That’s going to be tough at Hockenheim because it’s a track that probably won’t be one of our strongest but we’re looking forward to it.”

After a challenging and winless 2015 campaign that saw Red Bull finish fourth, Horner is naturally pleased with how his team has bounced back strongly this year. The Red Bull team boss adds that their recovery should not be belittled.

“It’s massive. Pre-season we thought we’d be lucky to be in the top five so to be fighting Ferrari, one point behind at the half-way point in the season, having won a race [Verstappen in Spain], that was what our sixth podium finish this season so far.

“To have both cars in their respective battles with Ferrari and finish ahead, it was a great performance [in Budapest] and a great first half of the year for us. We’re always confident that our second half of the season should be stronger than our first half.”

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