Verstappen warned he faces 'flat-out' fight before major F1 overhaul

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is convinced the next 18 months will be a dogfight between the leading four F1 teams before a major rules overhaul shakes up the sport.

Despite Max Verstappen having won half of the 14 completed races, seven drivers across four teams have already claimed a victory this season. 

It is a staggering change from what was seen last year, where only three drivers secured an F1 victory. One of those was Carlos Sainz, who was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race.

Red Bull has seen its dominance end which is applying the pressure on Verstappen to push to his limits to maintain his championship lead.

Horner sees the current tightness of the lead teams as a huge positive for F1, although warns it will change in 2026.

"It's great for the sport," Horner told select media including RacingNews365. "It's almost inevitable that when you get consistency of regulations, you always get convergence, if you look through the history of Formula 1.

"I remember when I first came into Formula 1, Ron Dennis banging that drum, back in 2005. He had the best car at that time, but convergence has always brought the teams together.

"Of course, we've got a big regulation change in 2026, which will cause divergence, but between now and then I think it's going to be - for the next 18 months - flat out between the four teams."

2026 will see the introduction of the new power unit regulations, which are expected to once again shake-up the pecking order

Given how unpredictable F1 currently is, some have called for the current regulations to continue beyond next season; however, Horner believes the new rules are coming in for a reason.

"You can never stand still. They've made the change for reasons they feel are relevant. The sport has to keep evolving."

Despite the fact the current regulations are ending in 18 months, Red Bull is continuing to press on with the development of its car. 

"The whole team is still working flat out on this car," stressed Horner. "Because with stable regulations, whatever we learn now is relevant to next year anyway.

"If you reflect on the first part of the year now, we are over half distance, we've won seven grands prix, we've won two or three sprint races.

"We're leading both championships, but over recent weeks that constructors' [lead] has diminished somewhat, and that's where our focus is."