Horner hopes Gasly will help Verstappen: "We would very much appreciate it"

Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner is hoping that not only Sergio Perez, but also Pierre Gasly can play a role in holding off Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes look strong in Turkey, but Max Verstappen's title rival will have to deal with three other Honda drivers before he gets close.

First and foremost, Horner hopes Verstappen manages to stay ahead of his rival on his own merits. "The best way to beat him is to stay in front," he explained to Speedweek.com. "We are fully focused on our race and will try to get the maximum number of points with both cars."

The 47-year-old Briton is also hoping for the help of AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly, who will start from fourth. "Pierre's performance is remarkable, he is always in great shape on Saturdays. Hopefully, he can get good points in the race too. We would of course very much appreciate it if he managed to keep at least one Mercedes behind him," said Horner.

He also hopes that the differences in the race will be smaller than in qualifying. "Mercedes is very fast on a lap, we will see tomorrow whether they can hold that for a race distance," said the Red Bull team boss.