Christian Horner maintains that no-one at Red Bull is panicking, despite acknowledging that they are now feeling the pressure from their F1 rivals.
Max Verstappen, who has dominated for over two years, is now facing stiff competition from teams like Ferrari and McLaren.
Charles Leclerc’s victory in Monaco on Sunday marked Verstappen’s second non-win in three races.
After a disappointing sixth-place qualifying, Verstappen remarked that his team had been “found out,” likening his car to a “go-kart” struggling with the kerbs in Monte Carlo.
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Team boss Horner conceded that Red Bull’s weaknesses have been exposed and expects more challenges from other teams in the coming weeks.
“I think we saw it in Singapore last year as well.
“I think we’ve had another example of that.
“We know it’s an area of the car we need to work on.
“We have some lessons to take out of this weekend and some issues that we need to address with the car,” Horner said.
He continued, “Ferrari, McLaren, they’re quick. It was always going to happen that there was going to be convergence.
“I think McLaren made a big step, Ferrari’s step was very subtle. So let’s see over the next two or three races.
“We’re now getting into the meat of the championship so let’s see. Montreal, Barcelona, Austria, Silverstone, let’s see over the next few circuits how things pan out.
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint. We expected this to be a tough weekend for us.
“Qualifying was difficult which then dictates where you are in the race.”
While Red Bull is wary of McLaren and Ferrari, Mercedes has yet to pose a significant threat.
George Russell finished ahead of Verstappen due to his qualifying position and the difficulty of overtaking in Monaco.
Lewis Hamilton was also stuck behind Verstappen and disagreed with Russell’s assessment that Mercedes’ result was “encouraging.”
Hamilton does not expect much improvement in Montreal, even with an upgraded car.
“I’m excited to go to Canada. I wouldn’t say I’m excited about the prospect of racing there. I don’t see a lot of difference.
“I’ll go to Canada and as always give my absolute everything, and it’s good to see the team are bringing performance,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton had an opportunity to undercut Verstappen in Monaco, but a miscommunication from the team thwarted this chance.
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Team boss Toto Wolff admitted the mistake, saying, “That was a miscommunication first between us on the pit wall.
“We got that wrong, it should have been an ‘out-lap critical’ in trying to undercut.
“It was the wrong message to Lewis, and this is a team sport.”