Horner: Everybody getting to top of development curve

Red Bull's recent dominant streak in the ground-effect era has undoubtedly come to an end. After cruising to both Drivers' and Constructors' Championships in 2022 and 2023, the current season has looked a lot less comfortable for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

They hold a 42-point advantage over McLaren, who undoubtedly have the fastest overall package of the ten teams. Mercedes also look strong and have been quicker than Red Bull going into the summer break, as Lewis Hamilton won the most recent event in Belgium. Ferrari have also outscored Red Bull in the last two Grands Prix, and have been the fourth team realistically challenging for victories in 2024.

With this in mind, Red Bull have their work cut out if they want to retain their leads when Formula 1 returns in September. Max Verstappen has thrown away valuable points with collisions in Austria and Hungary, while teammate Sergio Perez has underperformed despite signing a contract extension with the team.

Is Team Principal Horner worried that both Championships will slip away from Red Bull in the second half of the 2024 campaign?

Speaking to media including GRANDPRIX247 after the Belgian Grand Prix, Horner was asked if Red Bull were struggling to deliver improvements on the RB20 car. He stated: "No, the whole team is still working flat out on this car because with stable rigs, whatever we learn now is relevant to next year anyway.

"And if you reflect on the first part of the year now, we're over half distance. We've won seven grands prix. We've won two or three sprint races. We're leading both championships.

"But over recent weeks, that constructors' has diminished somewhat. And that's where our focus is," claimed Horner.

On the fact that three teams were within touching distance of Red Bull in the Standings, Horner added: "Inevitably you get to the top of the curve and we have less wind tunnel time than anybody because of the system of the ATR and that's normal. I mean you will continue to get convergence throughout next year as well.

"I think everybody's getting to the top of the curve and one week it's Mercedes, one week it's McLaren, one week it's Red Bull when Ferrari haven't popped up for a while so it keeps moving around."

Despite the added pressure of keeping faster teams at bay in the development race, Horner is relishing the brewing Championship fight which he says has been a bonus for spectators. He said: "it's great for the sport and it was almost inevitable when you get consistency of regulations you always get convergence.

"Of course we've got a big regulation change in 2026 that will cause divergence, but between now and then I think it's going to be, for the next 18 months, it's going to be flat out between the four teams," concluded the Red Bull boss.

Red Bull will be hoping to hit the ground running at Verstappen's home Grand Prix in the Netherlands, which commences Sunday 25 August at 14:00 BST (15:00 local time).