Horner: "Without a doubt our best preparation in the hybrid era"

Red Bull Racing may be the biggest favourite at the start of the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend. At the home of their bosses, many expect them to be at least on the same level as Mercedes. The words of team boss Chistian Horner are encouraging just before the start of the season.

"It's going to be an exciting and intense year," he says in the team's preview. "Racing is continuous and as far as I'm concerned we are well prepared to have our best season since 2013. This is without any doubt our best preparation in the hybrid era. In our second year with Honda we are better prepared for each other. We're a really close team now and we're really eager to compete".

Record year of Vettel and Red Bull Racing

That says something. 2013 was the record year in which Sebastian Vettel captured his last world title for the team and won no less than nine races in a row. In addition to the work at the factory, Red Bull decided to test the new procedures at the last minute. This was done with a fully developed RB16 at the Silverstone circuit. The car was owned by Alexander Albon. Horner said earlier that Max Verstappen's absence had been planned a long time in advance.

"For the team it was useful to practice on the new procedures with the safety measures and so on (against COVID-19). It was good that they did the basic things again, like pit stops, then most of the cobwebs are gone. We did decide a long time ago not to quarantine Max. For 50 km, which is the equivalent of a few laps in Austria, it wasn't worth it".