Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes Mercedes is closing in on the Taurus' performance, even if they were unable to threaten Max Verstappen in France
Mercedes achieved its best result of the 2022 season last Sunday (24) at the French GP. Lewis Hamilton finished the race in second place, behind only Max Verstappen, and George Russell completed the German team's first double podium of the year. After battling against the quiques and suffering with the performance of the W13, Mercedes finally seems to be closing in on the fight involving Ferrari and Red Bull.
The two rivals are certainly keeping an eye on what the German team is doing. Christian Horner, boss of the Taurinos, said he was not overly impressed with Mercedes' performance on the straights, but agreed that the silver arrows' advance is undeniable.
"Not especially. Nothing really caught our attention. They were certainly confident with their chances before the weekend. I think in the end Max was reasonably comfortable. But you can see that they are cutting the gap, they are getting closer," Horner said after the French GP.
▶️ Get to know the GRAND PRIX channel on Twitch by clicking here!
"I heard Toto [Wolff] say that they will work during the summer break to improve the car, which would clearly be illegal," Christian joked. "But you can see that they are getting closer and closer," he concluded.
Mercedes has now accumulated five races in a row with at least one car on the podium. In addition, the team has not yet suffered any mechanical breakdowns, which could be decisive in the second half of the season. However, the German team remains winless in 2022.
Formula 1 returns next Sunday (31), for the Hungarian Grand Prix, with full coverage by GRANDE PRÊMIO. The 13th round of the World Championship will be the last before the traditional European summer break.