Horner refusing to throw in the towel in the championship battle with McLaren

The Austrian team's slim chances for any sort of title took a major hit at the Spanish Grand Prix. Yuki Tsunoda missed out on the points entirely, while Max Verstappen's disappointing weekend saw him clash with George Russell in the final phase of the race, resulting in a ten-second time penalty to drop him down to P10, while also tallying three points on his license.

Since the Grand Prix around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, plenty of chatter has surrounded the British team boss and his future at Red Bull Racing, with GPblog reporting that Horner seems to be preparing for a departure from the Austrian team unless performances improve.

However, despite the challenges that Red Bull have with the challenging RB21 at their disposal, there is still belief from Horner that a championship challenge is possible, despite the 216-point difference between themsevles and McLaren at the top of the constructors' championship.

"I think there's a significant gap now, but there's an awful lot of points still available," Horner started by saying to several media sources in Barcelona, including GPblog.

During the race, there were repeated complaints from Verstappen, with a lack of grip and clutch difficulties both issues that cropped up for the Dutchman during the race, while the two McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris raced away to take a one-two finish.

"He's out there doing his best," Horner explained when asked about the struggles Verstappen went through compared to his title rivals at the papaya-colioured team.

"Of course, it's always difficult when it just looks easier for the car ahead. Compared to the rest of the field, you can see we were able to pull away in each of the stints. It is just that McLaren are clearly a step ahead," concluded the Brit.