Mercedes hard to beat in season after 'their best car in hybrid era'

Red Bull Racing faces a daunting task in 2021. They are expected to be the only ones who can make things difficult for Mercedes. Whether it will be an exciting championship will largely depend on them. Christian Horner is happy to take on that role but is also tempering expectations.

He does so by calling Mercedes favourite several times in a recent interview with Autosport magazine. He refers to Mercedes' dominance since the beginning of the hybrid era and he believes it is likely that this good form will continue. Yet he also pats his own team on the back.

Mercedes is the favourite

"I think we have been the most consistent challenger over the past seven years. We've managed to win races in six of those seven years", said Horner, who wants to finally close the gap to Mercedes in 2021. They started to do so in the second half of last season, but given Mercedes' form in 2020, he also thinks it will be a very difficult task.

"But I hope by using the lessons that we've learned from 2020, we can put a more sustained challenge to Mercedes, who will undoubtedly be incredibly strong and very much the favourites this year - particularly off the back of a car, which was arguably their best car of the hybrid era", Horner said, referring to the Mercedes W11.