Christian Horner prepares for intense development race in F1 2025

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, declared on Friday that the squad is bracing for a "development race" with Formula 1's top teams ahead of the 2025 season, identifying McLaren's 2025 car as the one to beat. This statement comes ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.

Red Bull dominated the sport in the two years following the 2022 regulation changes, which reintroduced ground-effect cars. However, the competition has significantly intensified. McLaren overcame a 115-point deficit to win the 2024 constructors' championship and has emerged as the title favorite for 2025.

"It's of course now a development race between now and Abu Dhabi in December," Horner mentioned in a news conference alongside McLaren's Zak Brown. "It's going to be a nine-month marathon of a season. From what we saw in Melbourne, if the racing is like that all the way through, it could be a bumper year."

Lando Norris's victory at the Australian Grand Prix, where he finished ahead of reigning world champion Max Verstappen, underscores McLaren's competitiveness. "McLaren is quite far ahead," Verstappen acknowledged after finishing around nine-tenths of a second behind Norris.

Horner emphasized the need for continuous development, stating, "In this business, if you're standing still, you're going backwards." The 2025 season presents a significant challenge, with teams needing to balance current development against preparing for 2026's new regulations, which include lighter cars, active aerodynamics, and simpler hybrid power units.

McLaren's Brown urged caution, pointing to Melbourne's rain-affected race: "It's one race, in tricky conditions, so let's see how things play out over the next few races. I don't think we've seen the final line-up yet."

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