F1: How Red Bull caught up with the Mercedes juggernaut

While Mercedes leads the constructors ‘championship, Verstappen is only eight points ahead of rival Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ championship, and the couple’s back and forth for the couple’s title fight has contributed to one of the most exciting F1 seasons in recent history: any fears of another One horse race.

According to Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, the driver’s title for the 24-year-old Verstappen would be the “greatest success” of his team since his entry into the sport, given the stiff competition.

“Mercedes was the benchmark, and they knocked it out of the park when it came to those standards over the past few years,” said Horner Amanda Davies of CNN Sport at the recent Qatar Grand Prix.

“Breaking that … it just shows in life that anything is possible. The spirit we showed shows that if you want something badly enough, you can achieve it.”

In his 16th year as team boss, between 2010 and 2013, Horner led a Sebastian Vettel-inspired golden era for Red Bull that took four championship wins in a row.

Since then, the championship fight has only entered the last race twice, and even then it was a matter of deciding which of the two Mercedes drivers – Hamilton or Nico Rosberg – won the title.

Hamilton’s historic seventh triumph last year was the team’s most dominant to date, ending in 14th of 17th

But Horner “always believed” that Red Bull would one day be on the F1 summit again – an insight he attributes to a perfect triad of factors, starting with the team’s change of engine supplier from Renault to Honda in 2019.

“We just needed the tools for it and I think Honda was a big factor in that,” said Horner.

“To think that we could mostly take on this juggernaut with the same car… but the team really got together in difficult times and developed a phenomenal car.

“A lot of people, when I look around the engineering office, were there in 2013. Four of the seven people at the pit wall were here in Brazil and Abu Dhabi in 2013. So we didn’t forget how to win – we just didn’t have the tools to win.

“Now we have a great driver, we have a great engine and I know we have a great team. So it’s just the combination of these three elements that come together.”

Super max

Verstappen has dazzled this season with nine wins and pole positions that dwarf Hamilton’s seven and four respectively.

However, successive wins in Brazil and Qatar have cut Hamilton’s lead from Verstappen in recent weeks, although the Dutchman will claim his first league title if he crosses the finish line in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi ahead of the Britons this month.

For Horner it would be a “deserved” victory for a young driver who impresses him with his mentality as well as his racing skills.

“Max’s development, the way he behaved … it was absolutely first class. He’s driving at a phenomenally high level,” said Horner.

“He’s a very easy going guy to work with. He’s not someone who needs big, deep heart-to-heart. He’s a racing driver, he just wants to keep going.

“You can tell he’s a bit intolerant of that sometimes, but when you buckle him up in the car and buckle up, you know he’s going to give it his all. You’ll get 110% every time he sits in it. “Dare.”

READ: Valtteri Bottas supports team-mate Lewis Hamilton in triumphing in the Formula 1 World Championship fight In September, Verstappen responded to Hamilton’s nervousness with a very sarcastic response: “I’m so nervous, I can hardly sleep. It’s so terrible to fight for a title. I really hate it. ”

So it’s no wonder that Horner didn’t feel anything that would contradict the outward self-confidence of his driver.

“He certainly doesn’t show any and I haven’t seen any on him,” said Horner.

“I think he just enjoys driving the car. He’s 24 years old. Do 24-year-olds have nerves?

“He knows he has a wonderful opportunity and he will give it everything. He has nothing to lose and he has everything to gain.”

But does Horner see Verstappen as a favorite?

“No way,” replied the Red Bull team boss.

“I think it’s 50-50. I really do. I think it’s on the fine margins and the cars have been pretty tight in most of the races.

“We need a few things to find our way, but of course we can do it.”

Standard sparring

The drivers’ title fight this season was in the truest sense of the word a fight that was fought on and off the track from the start.

Tensions on the track peaked at a dramatic Italian Grand Prix in September when Hamilton and Verstappen collided and both were subsequently excluded from the race.

Meanwhile, the off-track feuds – often embodied by Horner and his Mercedes colleague Toto Wolff – continued at the recent Grand Prix in Qatar with disputes over driving standards.

After the Sao Paulo Grand Prix last weekend – when Verstappen allegedly pushed Hamilton far while defending an overtaking maneuver on lap 48 – Mercedes asked for a review of the Red Bull driver’s race.

The stewards had deemed no further investigation necessary at the time and the FIA ​​subsequently declined the request to video-check Mercedes, but the two title rivals continued to argue over the incident after qualifying in Qatar.

“I think in the end it was pretty clear,” said Verstappen of the previous week’s driving briefing, to which Hamilton replied, “No. It’s not clear.

“All drivers except Max asked for clarity, but it wasn’t very clear. It’s still not clear where the track’s boundaries are,” added Hamilton.

Despite the off-track sparring, Horner hopes that the last word will be spoken where it matters: on the track.

“This year was so intense – on the track, off the track, in the media pen, wherever, and it was a completely different kind of championship,” said Horner.

“The whole drama off the track is a distraction. And ultimately, in the last few races, I sincerely hope that it is reflected on the track and that we don’t end up in a steward’s room or an appeal hearing in Paris or something like that.”

“We just want to make sure that there are fair and even conditions because it would be disappointing to lose this championship because of something that isn’t up to the rules.”