“It’d have been difficult to beat him”: Christian Horner praises Lando Norris as “most consistent challenger” to Max Verstappen

Christian Horner praised Lando Norris as the only challenger to Max Verstappen in the 2024 Spanish GP. Speaking to onsite media after the race, the Red Bull Racing team principal felt that the Briton would have been difficult to beat if he was ahead of the Dutchman.

In the last four races, McLaren and Lando Norris have consistently challenged both Ferrari and Red Bull for wins. As a result of the constant podiums and win in Miami, the 25-year-old is now second in the championship. After clinching the pole position of the race, the Briton was well placed to claim his second victory. However, a poor start and strategy put him on the back foot.

Red Bull and Max Verstappen countered McLaren and Lando Norris with a tire strategy that paid off. But Horner suggests that had the Briton had track position, it would have been difficult to pass him. The 50-year-old team boss felt that both the Dutch champion and Englishman were very close in terms of performance.

He believes it was one of the key moments where the triple world champion delivered when it mattered. From the Spanish GP performance, it was clear that the 26-year-old had made the extra difference.

Asked if it was a race that Lando Norris could have won, Horner replied:

“I think if Lando would have had track position it would have been difficult to beat him today. I mean it was so close between the two of them that were then well it's a eighteen seconds ahead of the rest of the field. So I would say that Lando has emerged from the pack as the most consistent challenger.”

Asked if McLaren were the fastest car in Spain, Horner said:

“I think the McLaren looked fast you know certainly at the end of the stints, which is something that we've seen at a couple of races now. So their degradation seems to be good, but that's a little bit, offset by the by the strategy and the overlap in the tyre line. So, you know, we had enough today to get the job done. You know, it was a 7th victory out of ten races four of them have been very hard. But again the team working at a level where you know we're still delivering the pit stops at 1 .7 seconds and strategy etc. But Max again demonstrated why is the world champion, the key moments he delivers.”

Christian Horner expects McLaren and Lando Norris to be quick again in Austria

Christian Horner expects the Austrian GP to be very close, where McLaren and Lando Norris will be quick again. He believes that Ferrari and Mercedes have had a similar gap to them as last year. The Red Bull Racing CEO felt that the Briton and the Woking team would be the real competition at the Spielberg circuit.

Asked how he expects the race weekend to unfold in Austria, with the field bunched up, Horner said:

“I think it's going to be like the Brands Hatch or Indy circuit, where there's going to be half tenths between the drivers. It's going to be on such a short lap. It's going to be so tight so and we expect McLaren and Lando to be fast again. Ferrari Mercedes you know who knows if you look at the gap to those guys, after the race today was pretty similar to last year. The one that stepped up is Lando. So you know obviously we need to understand where our own deficiencies are and how we can improve.”

After the Spanish GP result, Lando Norris has moved up to second place in the driver’s championship. However, Canada and Spain were races that were an assured win for him and his team.

The two consecutive second places podiums have only helped him eclipse Charles Leclerc for now, who also trails him by only two points. On the other hand, Max Verstappen has managed to extend his title lead to 69 points with two victories.

But with 14 races left on the calendar, the Briton and his team will have to make the most out of the next two race weekends to halt Red Bull and the Dutchman in their tracks.