Christian Horner thinks that Mercedes are trying to remove the “spotlight” that is on them by playing down the speed of their car ahead of the 2021 Formula 1 season opener in Bahrain this weekend.
Looking ahead to the new season, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said that the W12 “wasn’t as stable, predictable or planted” as some of their rivals’ challengers during testing, highlighting Red Bull as a team that looked strong.
While Mercedes completed the fewest laps of any team during testing and saw driver Lewis Hamilton spin twice, Red Bull set the fastest time overall and topped three sessions.
However, Horner warned that the reigning champions would “come back strong” and said that his team could not “underestimate the size of the challenge ahead of us”.
“There is no denying that after the smooth running of the three-day test in Bahrain, there seems to be an excitement out there that we can end Mercedes’ seven-year dominance of F1,” he said in an interview with Red Bull’s official website.
“But we had a debrief within the Team after the test and it is fair to say we are a little more cautious on the subject and we cannot underestimate the size of the challenge ahead of us on many fronts.
“We know that Mercedes have not won by mistake for the past seven years; they are a quality, class team that will be motivated to come back strong.
“We saw it a couple of years ago where there was a similar story during pre-season testing and then they smashed it out of the park at the first race in Melbourne.
“So, you cannot take anything for granted. And at this stage it is good that we have a solid basis from which to develop the car, rather than fixing an inherent problem.
“Of course, Mercedes are trying to move the spotlight away from themselves, which is all part of the game, but the reality is they are the reigning seven-time world champions and it is down to us to close that gap and put up a fight.”