Horner evaluates McLaren threat after Miami victory

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has reacted to the possibility of a consistent threat from McLaren after its win in Miami.

Lando Norris scored his first career victory at the Miami Grand Prix last weekend, crossing the line several seconds ahead of reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

Red Bull has held a dominant position at the front of the Formula 1 pecking order since the introduction of new technical regulations in 2022.

However, Miami marked a rare occasion in which it was out-paced as Norris stretched out his gap over Verstappen following a safety car restart.

Despite its strong pace, Horner was cautious to predict it will see a constant challenge from the Woking-based squad going forward.

“They’ve obviously won the race, they had good pace in the second half of the race,” Horner told media including RacingNews365.

“They were quick on the medium in the sprint race quali, but we still managed two poles earlier this weekend, the sprint victory and we were leading the race had it not been for the Safety Car.

“But you can see they’ve definitely made a step forward.”

Circuit specific pace

Following his win, Norris asserted McLaren can challenge for more victories this season.

The Briton, whose maiden F1 campaign came in his sixth season, declared he is “100 per cent” sure McLaren can contend for the world championship in 2025.

As McLaren aim to continue its strong momentum after its Miami win, Horner asserted Red Bull will be keeping a close eye on their rival’s pace amid suggestions its recent form is circuit dependent.

“So it will be then interesting to see what happens over the next few races now once we head back to Europe,” Horner added.

“McLaren showed real pace last year at certain times, so how circuit-specific is it?

“We’ll see as we go through the next few races, but they’ve been very strong this weekend and Lando deserves the win.”