Christian Horner hits back at George Russell’s Red Bull comments with jab at Mercedes

Russell had accused Red Bull of ‘holding back’ despite taking victory at every race so far this season

Red Bull chief Christian Horner has hit back at Mercedes driver George Russell (Getty Images)

Christian Horner has hit back at George Russell’s claims that Red Bull were “holding back” with a jab at Mercedes.

Russell suggested after the Australian Grand Prix that he felt that Red Bull still had more speed to come despite a dominant start to the new Formula 1 season that has seen the team take three successive race victories.

The Mercedes driver alleged that Horner’s outfit were deliberately trying to lessen their winning margins to avoid the FIA making tweaks designed to limit Red Bull’s performance.

Team principal Horner has now responded to Russell’s comment by reminding the British driver that it used to be Mercedes leading the field by a distance.

A run of eight consecutive Constructors’ Championship crowns for Mercedes came to an end in 2022, Russell’s first season at the team.

“That’s very generous of him,” Horner said of Russell’s theory. “He’d know too well from his team about those kinds of advantages.”

Max Verstappen claimed his second victory of the new season in Melbourne, crossing the line ahead of Lewis Hamilton as the race finished behind a safety car.

The Dutch driver looks the leading contender as he chases a third world title, with Red Bull’s vehicle again seemingly superior to the rest on the grid.

Some were surprised, though, by Verstappen’s failure to pull away more from Hamilton having taken the race lead in Australia, but Horner stressed that the nature of the race meant managing his tyres was key.

“There’s always an element of management that goes on in any race,” Horner explained. “Because it was a one-stop race and a very early one-stop race, of course there was an element of tyre management going on.”

The F1 season continues in Baku on the final weekend of April.

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