Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is wary Mercedes will enter the fray for the race win at Sunday’s British Grand Prix.
Mercedes have come with sizeable upgrades to their car, the effects of which suggested it was on the pace in the initial practice session on Friday.
Horner’s Red Bull team have dominated the championship with a sizeable lead in the constructors’ championship and Max Verstappen having won six of nine races to date.
Of a three-team, six-car battle for victory at Silverstone, Horner said: “I think it could well be. The closest we’ve seen it is Barcelona in terms of high-speed and medium-speed corners. Mercedes again seem quick here and have brought a reasonable update here.
“It looks like at this venue that there could well be six cars in contention, which is fantastic for the fans. It’s going to be interesting to see how it pans out.”
Red Bull have brought their own set of upgrades to the 10th race on the 2022 calendar, which Horner said were “not a huge step – more evolution than revolution”.
Horner, meanwhile, will be part of the F1 commission that meets next week to discuss the technical directive from the FIA over porpoising.
The metric, which is set to define a limit cars are allowed to bounce up and down and address safety concerns from some teams, is planned to come into play for the French Grand Prix at the end of July.
But Horner warned: “I think the metrics they are talking about are quite complicated, which is the concern over it. When you look at it from a purist’s point of view it’s not ideal.
“It seems we’re giving more and more influence to the FIA to dictate set-up. It’s a dangerous avenue to go down. I understand on the grounds of safety this is being introduced because of porpoising on a limited number of cars.”
