Horner makes Red Bull declaration over F1 rivals fear

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has told the team they need to "make hay" before their Formula 1 rivals catch-up later in the season.

The 2022 champions have started the new season in crushing form, taking two dominant one-two finishes in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and 87 points from a possible 88.

The RB19 was lapping over one second per lap faster in the race in Jeddah than its nearest midfield rivals, with some drivers already speculating that Red Bull will win every race in the 2023 season.

And Horner believes the team needs to continue this dominance before they are reeled in or reliability problems strike.

Horner's Red Bull declaration

"The regulations are still relatively young, it's only the second year of these new regulations," Horner said on Sky News's business show with Ian King when asked how he'd feel if Mercedes copied Red Bull's design.

"I'm expecting to see an awful lot of convergence during the course of the year, and the grid is going to tighten up.

"So we need to make hay while the sun shines at the moment.

"We've got a competitive car now and [need to] just keep pushing through the season.

"But I have no doubt that the opposition are going to be coming back quickly and aggressively, especially as we come back into the European season where updates start to come through.

"We're hearing about big Mercedes upgrades, I'm sure Ferrari aren't happy with their current position as well.

"So we're fully expecting things to converge quickly once we get back into Europe."