Horner doesn't rule out Mercedes yet: Hamilton's long-run pace "didn't look bad"

Christian Horner can call himself a happy man after the first day of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Max Verstappen set the fastest time in the morning session and Sergio Perez was the fastest in the second free practice. Their main competitor Mercedes was nowhere to be seen. Horner told Sky Sports he is satisfied with the result.

"We are just focused on ourselves. It was a clean session, probably his [Sergio Perez's] strongest sessions of the year and season to date. That is encouraging," Horner said in an initial comment.

Mercedes remains dangerous

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas had their worst Friday of the year, but Red Bull is still reckoning with a strong Mercedes."The long run pace of Lewis didn't look bad. The pace is obviously there on the long run, but there are just a couple of corners they seem to be struggling in."

The Honda engine made great strides last winter, allowing Red Bull to drive with relatively high downforce in Baku: "Honda has done a great job. We are much closer. It gives us more options. The progression is great. Mercedes is still the benchmark, but we are getting very close. It also allows us to play a bit more with the downforce."

Mercedes' W12 doesn't have the pace for now, something that Horner acknowledges: "They are struggling in slower parts of the circuit, but you can also see that the Ferrari's are very strong there. So, it's trying to be consistently quick across all variants of corners. 

"Max wasn't entirely happy with the balance in the second free practice, but Perez was a lot better."