Horner remains optimistic: "That would have been our chance to win the race"

Red Bull Racing were once again forced to concede victory to Mercedes in Spain, but the fact remains that the team is in a much better position than in 2020. Team principal Christian Horner agrees and wants to focus on the positive aspects.

In the end, Max Verstappen's Red Bull simply lacked speed compared to Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes. "If we could have driven a good pace, that would have been our chance to win the Grand Prix," Horner said in an interview with AutoHebdo. "Driving the fastest race lap was ultimately the only option to bring in more points."

"Mercedes had a better race pace and was less affected by tyre wear," Horner continued. "They were simply faster than us." However, the Red Bull team boss remains optimistic. "We've never been so close before, so I don't think we should be disappointed with this result. It certainly wasn't a bad day for us, as we were almost on the same level as Mercedes at a circuit where we were less good last year. That's very positive," said Horner.

Red Bull also made a big step in qualifying. "Apart from Bahrain, the gap between the teams in qualifying is always about a tenth. Our last pole position in Barcelona was in 2011, and this year we were incredibly close. We just need to work on our race pace," Horner finished.