Horner emphasises “element of luck” in McLaren F1 title fight

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said his team was “lucky” that McLaren had not been consistently at the top in the early stages of the current F1 season.

The Woking-based team has posed an increasing threat to Red Bull over the last few events and now sits just 30 points behind in the Constructors' Championship, thanks in part to Lando Norris' win at Zandvoort on Sunday.

In the first laps of the season, Red Bull was comfortably at the front of the field and was able to extend its lead over the teams behind.

Horner stressed that the deficit at the start of the season was crucial for Red Bull to maintain its top position in the championship.

“We are lucky that they underperformed at the beginning of the year,” Horner told media, including RacingNews365.

“We have a buffer of 70 points [in the drivers’ standings]but that can wear off pretty quickly. It's notable that this is only Lando's second win in this car.

“He is driving well and is gaining confidence. We are under pressure to react.”

“We're used to being in championship battles over the years and we're going to give it our all. We're going to fight with everything we've got in the remaining nine races.”

McLaren now the “benchmark” in F1

On his way to victory, Norris overtook championship leader Max Verstappen on lap 18 after losing the lead at the start.

After passing Verstappen, Norris took the lead and built a 22-second lead over Verstappen by the chequered flag.

Horner stressed that Red Bull is not resting on its laurels and is fighting to maintain its lead in the championship.

“I think McLaren have taken a step forward recently and their car here, particularly with Lando, has been very impressive,” added Horner. “We need to address our deficit.”

“The McLaren has been the benchmark car in recent races and we are very aware that we have to respond to that.

“Everyone in Milton Keynes is working incredibly hard to solve this problem.”