Will Red Bull respond to Verstappen's wishes with more upgrades?

Christian Horner was asked that question after the Belgian Grand Prix where Max Verstappen finished fourth and Sergio Perez crossed the finish line in eighth place. "No, the whole team is still working flat out on this car, because with stable regs, whatever we learn now is relevant to next year anyway, and if you reflect on the first part of the year now, we're 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 has diminished somewhat, and that's where our focus is," the team principal said, not directly answering the question.

Less development time for Red Bull

Then the 50-year-old Briton repeated something he has said many times before: Red Bull are near the top of the development curve, which means there is less progression to make. Moreover, as leader in the Constructors' World Championship, Red Bull also have the least amount of time in the wind tunnel after the summer break. This has everything to do with the handicap introduced a few seasons ago.

The higher your position in the world championship, the less development time. And the lower your position, the more opportunities you have to test things. It should cause the field to level out and it seems to have succeeded quite well. "You will continue to get convergence throughout next year as well. I think everybody is getting to the top of the curve, and one week it's Mercedes, one week it's McLaren, one week it's Red Bull, and Ferrari haven't popped up for a while, so it keeps moving around," Horner said.

Red Bull know which direction they want to go

McLaren seem to have their act together better at the moment. The British racing stable has consistently scored more points than Red Bull in recent GPs, so they also benefit from more development time in the second half of the season. Could McLaren overtake the Austrians in the standings? Horner won't quite go there.

"I think we know where we need to focus and improve, and that's what everybody is doing. We took the pole by six-tenths yesterday, it was a very dominant display, and I think had Max started from the pole, it would have been a completely different race. But we took the penalty here, we got damage limitation out of it. I think with Checo we need to work with him and continue to support him to understand what isn't quite working at the moment."