Horner: Red Bull can fight with Mercedes

While Daniel Ricciardo intends to measure up to Lewis Hamilton in 2017, his team principal Christian Horner also claims that Red Bull Racing will potentially have the means to put Mercedes F1 under pressure after several seasons where the star-studded team dominated the F1 field. The Briton relies on the change in regulations and the developments of the V6 turbo / hybrid of Renault.

“We are in the middle of the construction phase. We obtained the basics in 2016 and we feel a real optimism within the team about our abilities to reduce our delay with the engine. With our chassis, we hope to obtain a good car in order to give our guys the means to fight against Mercedes during the next season”, commented Christian Horner on Sky Sports F1.

“We will start with a clean sheet in 2017 where no one knows what the level of the opponents will be. We have been effective with rule changes in the past, but nothing is guaranteed. We hope similar progress will be made with the engine. If this point is achieved, we have two drivers (Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo) able to fight against Mercedes », added the Team Principal of Red Bull Racing.

Red Bull Racing took 2nd place in the Manufacturers' Championship in 2016 after a 2015 season where it only finished 4th.