Horner expects more competition: 'Will bounce back very quickly'

Red Bull Racing closed the Bahrain Grand Prix disappointingly. The Austrian racing stable saw both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez drop out and hopes to do better this coming weekend in Saudi Arabia. Christian Horner, meanwhile, is keeping his eyes and ears open for the competition.

Indeed, the team boss saw Ferrari perform very handsomely in Bahrain. While Charles Leclerc managed to stay ahead of Verstappen, Carlos Sainz managed to take advantage of the Dutchman's stoppage to take second place. With that, the Italian formation leaves the competition behind for now.

Horner still expects a lot from Mercedes

However, Horner knows that there are still other teams that want to get involved in the title fight. The Brit expects Mercedes to do well in 2022. For now, the team has to make do with third place behind Ferrari and Red Bull, but Horner does not expect this to be the case for the entire season.

"With the regulations being so immature, the development rate is going to be fast," Horner revealed in conversation with Formula1.com. "And of course a team like Mercedes – with the strength and depth that they have – will bounce back very, very quickly if they are on the back foot."