Christian Horner concedes McLaren ‘in a different league’ in Zandvoort and insists Red Bull ‘have to respond’

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner admitted McLaren's car was "in a different league" in Zandvoort, as Lando Norris secured a dominant Dutch Grand Prix victory.

In doing so the Briton finished 22.896s ahead of runner-up Max Verstappen – the biggest winning margin of the season – and reduced the deficit to the Dutchman in the drivers' championship to 70 points.

McLaren also reduced the lead in the constructors’ championship to just 30 points, with Oscar Piastri's P4 bagging more points compared to Sergio Perez's P6. As a result, Red Bull look like having a real fight on their hands to win a third straight constructors’ title.

"Congrats to Lando and McLaren, their car was in a different league today," Horner told Sky Sports F1. "We did everything we could, Max converted P2 into a lead, but you could see their pace was in a different league.

ZANDVOORT, NETHERLANDS - AUGUST 25: Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL38 — Verstappen couldn't live with the pace of Norris at Zandvoort

“Plenty of work to do, I think we’ve learnt lots of lessons this weekend which will be valuable and a solid drive from Checo so yeah, time to digest what’s happened here, damage limitation with P2 and bounce back in Monza.”

Red Bull were running upgrades in Zandvoort in the form of different mirror stays, some halo modifications and a specific engine cover for this track – but none of these were major performance enhancers.

With McLaren’s upgrade package seemingly lifting them clear of the field, Red Bull know they have work to do to stay competitive.

Verstappen: It was 'difficult to get the most' from the car at home Grand Prix

“We need to understand where the deficit is, I think we’ve learned quite a lot this weekend but you can see the pace they had at this track was outstanding so we need to understand how we can improve performance on our car,” Horner continued.

“The pace [McLaren] had today, nothing is secure. We still have a comfortable lead in the drivers’ but the constructors’, again another chunk of points has come off today. We will have to respond and I’m confident we have the strength and depth in order to do that.”

While Horner wouldn’t be drawn on whether and when any upgrades might be arriving, Verstappen does remain 70 points ahead of Norris in the drivers’ championship.

But Monza this weekend will be another test of just how potent McLaren’s upgrades are, and the extent to which Red Bull are now on the back foot.