“We're more focused on Ferrari & McLaren than Mercedes”: Red Bull boss Christian Horner on Silver Arrows' dominant FP outings in Canada

Christian Horner has put his entire focus on Ferrari and McLaren instead of Mercedes. Ahead of the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix qualifying, the Red Bull boss said the Silver Arrows were not the team he wanted to look at on this race weekend.

Coming into 2024, Ferrari and McLaren have emerged as the major contenders for Red Bull's throne. In eight races so far, the Prancing Horse claimed two wins while the Papayas took one. Given their development trajectory, one could expect them to snatch multiple victories as the season moves forward.

Compared to these two teams, Mercedes have been off-color. The Brackley-based team is barely a shadow of its 2014-2021 dominance and has won only one race since the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP. However, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton showed signs of improvement during the FP3 session.

"They were quick. I mean let’s not forget they ran 2 sets of soft tires and they’ve always looked quick on green circuits. With the new surface here, it’s playing to their strengths," said Horner during an interview with Sky Sports F1 after Mercedes' brilliant outing in FP3.

Hamilton and Russell finished the FP3 sessions in P1 and P3, respectively. Compared to them, the Ferrari duo finished in P10 [Charles Leclerc] and P12 [Carlos Sainz], and the McLaren duo in P5 [Oscar Piastri] and P7 [Lando Norris].

Despite this, Horner did not change his mind. He added:

"We're probably more focused on Ferrari & McLaren than Mercedes over the balance of the season, but let’s see how things pan out."

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George Russell and Mercedes stunned Christian Horner

F1 Grand Prix of Canada - Qualifying MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JUNE 08: George Russell and Max Verstappen (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

George Russell, with a scintillating lap, claimed the 2024 Canadian GP pole position, ahead of Red Bull talisman Max Verstappen.

Even though both Russell and Verstappen clocked an identical time (1:12:000), the rule within the sport favored the former to have the pole position. The Mercedes driver set the time ahead of his Red Bull counterpart.

On the other hand, the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz saw themselves out in Q2. They are all set to start Sunday's race from P11, and P12.

While Horner might have all the attention on McLaren for now [Norris and Piastri start from P3, and P4, respectively], he would also expect Sergio Perez to step up from his P16 starting position and help Red Bull in Constructors' Championship.