With Red Bull’s RB19 proving to be at the top of the field and far outpacing its rivals, the race for the drivers’ championship appeared to be entirely between its drivers.

Such internal rivalry has proven difficult for teams to deal with in the past, as it heightens the prospect of competitive tensions boiling over.

Horner is well aware of the dangers such a situation presents, but believes that as long as his team do their best to treat Verstappen and Perez equally in all respects, there will be no problems.

“I think it’s a question of luxury,” Horner said when asked by Autosport what his biggest challenge was in dealing with two drivers contending for the title.

“First of all, any team principal in the pits would expect to have this problem, it’s something we’ve been through before.

“The key is to make sure there is no paranoia and that both drivers are treated equally.

“You go out of your way to provide parity in terms of who gets the car out of the garage first each weekend. They even take turns when debriefing on who speaks first.

“But you know, it’s racing, it’s Formula 1, and every once in a while there’s a safety car or a pit stop or something. You can’t control every aspect of the sport and there are still variables.

“I think as long as the drivers know they’re all given an equal chance, it’s ultimately about what they do on the track. That’s where you want to play, not through reliability, for example, in your own team’s two teams. play a key role in the title race between two drivers.”

Mercedes Perspective

Mercedes-AMG Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff at the team principals press conference

photographer: motorsport pictures

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has faced his own challenges in the past when dealing with difficult situations between drivers, not least when Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton clashed on numerous occasions.

He knows how difficult it is to see through such situations—which is why he believes total transparency between them is crucial.

“From what I’ve seen in the past, it’s been a very tricky job for Christian and the team, as both drivers will obviously try to always feel like they’re being treated fairly and equally, while trying to gain an advantage,” he said. explain.

“Within our group, it’s important to have a lot of transparency and clarity, discussions before we actually play on Sunday and setting boundaries.

“In the end, both drivers, even Nico and Lewis, respect the opinion of the team and at the same time we admit that there was a battle, the battle between the two of them is still going on. So going back to the past, I might do something in 2016 behaves differently, especially.

“But there’s a balance between accepting that these two guys are fighting for a championship, in the same garage, and at the same time, they’re part of a bigger structure. I don’t think it’s always easy because they’re very competitive. powerful animal.”