Horner: 'The characteristics of Zandvoort are favourable for Mercedes'

The chances of Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing winning again at Zandvoort are good, but it will not be as easy as last week's victory at Spa-Francorchamps. Christian Horner reckons even Mercedes can fight for good points this weekend.

It seems Horner sees Red Bull and Verstappen's exceptional performance at the Belgian GP as a fluke. Indeed, the team boss still has no explanation for the RB18's dominant speed. Things will be different this weekend, that seems certain. The Brit told the press at Zandvoort, including GPBlog, that other teams will also be strong at Circuit Zandvoort.

Horner: "I expect Mercedes to be closer this weekend. It is a short circuit with short corners and that is in favour of Mercedes. We also expected them to be strong last weekend because of the Technical Directive that came into force then."

The minor changes to the regulations introduced by the FIA do not seem to be causing Red Bull Racing any problems at the moment. It was expected that the teams suffering from porpoising would be much closer after the TD.

The fact that the gap in Belgium was larger than usual was therefore remarkable. Horner added: "Spa was probably the most dominant win we've had. It's been very tight with Ferrari all year and it's hard to understand exactly what it was. Did they take a step back or did we take a step forward? In any case, it is certain that Max drove in his own league."