Horner predicts 'flat-out’ battle between top four F1 teams for next 18 months

Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes that there will be a “flat-out” battle among the top four F1 teams across the next 18 months in the sport, with the gaps having continued to close as the 2024 season has progressed.

Max Verstappen kicked off his title defence in style when the campaign got under way, taking victory in four of the five opening races. However, while some may have anticipated a continued dominance for the Dutchman, his rivals have caught up and the margins across the pack now look smaller than ever.

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This has resulted in seven different drivers winning a Grand Prix during the 14 rounds so far and, in the constructors’ standings, McLaren are now hot on the heels of Red Bull, while Ferrari and Mercedes are also not far behind.

Reflecting on the fact that there are now four teams fighting for wins, Horner commented: “I think it’s great for the sport, and it was almost inevitable when you get consistency of regulations, you always get convergence.

“I remember when I first came into Formula 1, Ron Dennis banging that drum back in 2005. Convergence has always brought the teams together. Of course we have a big regulations change in 2026 that will cause divergence but, between now and then, the next 18 months I think it will be flat-out between the four teams.”

While Verstappen had extended his lead in the drivers’ championship at the final race before the summer break in Belgium, Red Bull’s edge over McLaren took another dent in the constructors’ standings after Sergio Perez faced another challenging weekend.

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As such, Horner is hopeful that the squad can focus on taking more points when the season resumes at the Dutch Grand Prix on August 23-25.

“Extending the lead going into the summer break for Max will give him a better rest,” said Horner. “For us the focus is on the constructors’, where we’ve seen another seven or eight points taken off us again [at Spa].

“We need to turn that around coming out of the break in Zandvoort.”

Despite this, Horner is hopeful that the team can continue to work on their areas for improvement and come back stronger. Red Bull have also decided to stick with Perez for the remainder of the season, despite his position coming under scrutiny of late.

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“I think we know where we need to focus and improve and that’s what everyone’s doing,” Horner explained after the Belgian Grand Prix. “We took the pole by six-tenths [at Spa] that was a very dominant display.

“We took the [engine] penalty here, got damage limitation out of it and Checo [Perez], we need to work with him and continue to support him to understand what isn’t quite working at the moment.”