Christian Horner is looking forward to another tight battle with Mercedes at the Austrian Grand Prix, though the Red Bull team principal wonders if they may have turned their engines up following an impressive showing in FP2. Max Verstappen finished atop the time sheets in FP1, however Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas finished ahead of the Dutchman in the afternoon. Horner isn't surprised Mercedes looked strong on Friday given the pace they showed last weekend at the same track. "No, not really," Horner told RacingNews365.com and other members of the media. "I think they were quick last weekend. "We had a good first session, we had a solid second session. Maybe they [Mercedes] turned things up a little bit more for the for the second session from what we could see. "I think we know we've got a fight on our hands. It's been so close between the teams in the previous eight races, I've got no reason to think in won't be again in race nine this weekend." Sergio Perez finished FP2 down in 11th, however Horner explained that the Mexican was trying some things with the setup of his Red Bull. "[He was] just trying a few things with setup and the modes that we run in," Horner added. "It was a similar picture with Checo last weekend, and then you saw him make a big step to third, so I'm confident he'll be there or thereabouts tomorrow."
Most read
