Horner: "This championship is going to be a marathon and not a sprint"

Christian Horner is not as down beat about Red Bull's performance in Portugal as some might think. Max Verstappen finished P2 and Sergio Perez P4 and at this stage of the season that is some valuable points to take into the remaining races. 

“Looking at today we can see that this championship is going to be a marathon and not a sprint," Horner said in a press release. "It’s so tight and it’s going to be all about marginal gains.

"Max drove the wheels off the car again today, snatching second from Mercedes and it’s super tight between him and Lewis. With Max, it was frustrating to lose the point for Fastest Lap at the end of the race due to track limits which I think we agree need to be consistent throughout the race weekend.

"Similarly with Sergio, he lost out to a case of track limits when he was overtaken by the McLaren but once he got back past, his race pace was good so he is definitely getting there and the races are coming together for him. In clean air his pace was matching that of the leaders so I’m pleased with the progress he is making.On the whole, second and fourth place means plenty of points and there’s only eight separating Max and Lewis in the championship.

"Barcelona next week will be the benchmark and we’ll get our heads down until then when hopefully we get a clearer picture of the strengths and weaknesses of all the cars."