Christian Horner: Mercedes unable to influence Red Bull like other teams

Christian Horner has said that he believes Red Bull have retained the essence of a race team more than Mercedes and has suggested the Silver Arrows cannot influence his side as much as they can other teams on the grid.

The Formula 1 season kicks off this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit, and many are excited to see rivalries renewed between last year’s championship contenders.

Indeed, the season-long fight in 2021 sparked at the very first race in Bahrain and what followed was an enthralling duel which, infamously, went down to the final lap of the very final race.

Over the course of the season in 2021, barbs were certainly exchanged between Mercedes and Red Bull and, of course, Toto Wolff and Christian Horner and, in the build-up to this season, Horner has given his take on Mercedes to the Daily Mail, suggesting that there are fundamental differences between the two teams:

“The fundamental differences are that Mercedes is a team that has evolved over the years and grown to such a scale that it is a very well-oiled machine across all of its functions on-track, off-track, politically and media-wise, whereas we have retained the essence of a race team.

“When you turn up at our factory in Milton Keynes, your sole purpose is working for the race team to improve the car and achieve the best results we can.

“You have to be prepared to move quickly and you’ve got to be able to react quickly, not be afraid to speak up, not be afraid to speak your mind.

“We are a bit more of a maverick than any other team and that is why Mercedes have not been able to control us.

“Either through engine supply or drivers, Mercedes have done that with pretty much every other team over past years.

“There has been an element