Red Bull has ‘no silver bullet’ to recover lost ground - Horner

Christian Horner does not believe there is a "silver bullet" which will fix Red Bull's issues, with the team having lost ground to the chasing pack.

The Milton Keynes outfit started the season in fine form, and looked poised to canter to a third successive constructors' championship with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez comfortably taking three one-two finishes in the opening four rounds of the year.

However, over the past three grand prix, its performance gap to McLaren and Ferrari in particular looks to have been almost entirely eradicated.

This has left the team under increasingly pressure, with Verstappen voicing his discontent at the situation after a disappointing qualifying session at the Monaco Grand Prix. However, the Dutchman's comments were no concern to Horner - despite season-long speculation his championship-winner driver could seek pastures new.

"No. Listen to Max's comments over the last 10 years. He's just very direct. He's very forthright - it just focuses everyone," the Red Bull team principal said after the race when asked if Verstappen's remarks worried him, turning his attention to Verstappen's input in helping reclaim lost ground.

"There was a very good debrief following qualifying were [we] really dug into what exactly is the sensation from. He put a big effort into spending the time with the engineers... and there's no silver bullet. It's just about working hard and understanding it."

Ferrari and McLaren 'cannot be discounted'

After being beaten by McLaren in Miami and narrowly taking victory in Imola, Red Bull continued to struggle around the streets of Monte Carlo.

Verstappen endured another difficult Friday, but fared better during FP3. However, he was only able to qualify in sixth after aborting his final push lap after hitting the wall on the exit of Turn 1, Sainte Devote.

This left Ferrari and McLaren to lock-out the front two rows of the grid, with the four cars easily converting those starting positions into results come the grand prix - Charles Leclerc claiming a long-awaited win on home turf.

Looking ahead at the rest of the season, Horner sees reason to be wary, with the 50-year-old emphasising that the combined threat must be taken seriously.

"Yeah, I think so," he replied when asked if 2024 was going to be a lot harder for Red Bull than originally believed, whilst address Mercedes as well - given Toto Wolff was among the first to write the year off.

"Perhaps not with Mercedes, but I think Ferrari and McLaren certainly look competitive and they cannot be discounted. It's a long, long championship and obviously they've [Ferrari and McLaren] taken a good chunk of points [at the Monaco Grand Prix]."