Mercedes wants to have a performance advantage in the next two F1 races

Although the Milton Keynes-based team had a strong performance at last weekend’s Dutch GP, they believe the high-speed traits of Monza and Sochi will not suit their car as well in two weeks time.

Team principal Christian Horner says the two teams’ performance over the past few years suggests his squad will face a much greater challenge before things should get better later in the season.

“Your vehicle and engine package has always been very strong at these two venues, and they were weaker venues for us,” said Horner.

“So I assume that they will have an advantage in the next two races. But after that it should be nip and tuck. I would definitely hope so.

“The next two weekends for us will be to limit the damage and extract as much as possible from the car.”

Although Red Bull has been fairly aggressive with its upgrade push this season, especially in the diffusers space, Horner has suggested that it should now focus more on its efforts around 2022.

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Because of this, he suggests that the team won’t bring anything big for Monza and Sochi other than the regular, low-downforce wings that are a must.

“A tremendous effort will be made by 2022,” he said. “Of course there will be Monza wings that all cars have.

“But with this car we are now at the end of the cycle. But if there are small gains in a certain area, you have to try. “

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After the Dutch GP, Horner said that he had the feeling that there was only a 0.1 second difference in performance between Mercedes and Red Bull.

“It’s massively tight, isn’t it?” he explained. “In qualifying [at Zandvoort], it was within a tenth and we seemed to be a tenth, maybe two tenths ahead in the race.

“There will be tracks that suit Mercedes and there will be tracks that suit us, I think in the next phase of this championship. So we have to make sure that we take every opportunity. “