Formula One champions Red Bull aim to accelerate their performance during the final six rounds of the season, following Max Verstappen's stronger-than-expected performance in the back-to-back street races in Azerbaijan and Singapore, according to team boss Christian Horner.
The triple world champion, who turns 27 next week, saw his lead over McLaren's Lando Norris shrink from 62 points after the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on September 1 to the current 52 points. The season now enters a four-week break before a US-Mexico-Brazil sequence begins in Austin, Texas, on October 20, followed by a final triple-header in Las Vegas-Qatar-Abu Dhabi.
"I believe we've identified a path for development and have begun to understand some of the car's issues. We're starting to tackle them," Horner told reporters after Verstappen finished second to Norris in Singapore. "We performed better in Baku and here."
Verstappen finished fifth in Baku after placing sixth at Monza, matching his worst result of the season at Monaco in May, but it could have been worse. The Dutch driver won all six remaining races last year, delivering the most dominant season the sport has witnessed. Despite McLaren leading in the constructors' standings by 41 points, Horner believes the team is on the right track.
"The encouraging aspect was that the car responded as we anticipated and as our tools indicated," he said about Singapore. "The team is beginning to understand the direction and the limitations, which opens up development opportunities that should be productive." He views Monza as the low point from which the team is now rebuilding.
While McLaren believes the drivers' championship is within reach, Norris still faces a significant challenge. A single retirement could drastically alter the standings, but Norris must improve his scoring rate. With three sprint races adding to the points tally, a maximum of 180 points remain up for grabs.
Azerbaijan and Singapore were seen as circuits where Norris and McLaren could make substantial gains, with Ferrari appearing more of a threat. However, Verstappen only lost 10 points to his rival. In reality, Norris remains nearly as far from Verstappen as he was after his first victory in Miami in May, following Verstappen's four wins in the first five races.
That win brought Norris within 53 points. Despite Verstappen's eight-race losing streak since June, his lead remains robust. "Pretty pleased, but still much work to be done," he said after Sunday's race. "We know that. Hopefully, we can now really kick-start our efforts."
