Red Bull won’t “give up” on developing this year’s car in their fight with Mercedes for the Formula 1 championship.
The Anglo-Austrian team has fallen back behind the seven-time consecutive world champions in the standings after scoring just five points in the two races before the summer break.
But as most teams now switch focus to the all-new cars coming for 2022, Red Bull is perhaps the only exception with team boss Christian Horner hinting at more upgrades to come.
“It’s embedded in who we are as a race team that it’s not in our culture to give up on any season,” he told Motorsport.com.
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“Of course, we have the constraints of the budget cap as well, which makes life slightly more complicated. But people have short term memories in this sport, and you’ve got to go for it.
“Every race is an opportunity and if it means people have to work a little bit harder, and a few longer hours to enable that then absolutely everybody is up to that challenge.”
As for how the assessment would be made on switching focus to next year, Horner added: “You’ve got to go week-by-week and race-by-race and the team is doing a great job of balancing this year and next at the moment.
“It’s nothing new. I mean there is a lot being made of it at the moment, but we’ve had big regulation changes in the past and you’ve just got to balance your resource and I apply it to what needs the most.
“I think the team are working incredibly hard, extremely well and effectively.”
Mercedes claims to have already switched their full attention to 2022, with Toto Wolff stating any team not doing so will now start next year firmly behind.
“You need to look also to 2022 because unless you’re having some magic wand, you will be at a deficit next year,” he told Motorsport.com.
“So I believe that most of the teams have stopped development for 2021. But if they continue to push for 2021, that certainly is going to give them an advantage [this year].”
Horner though remains convinced Red Bull is doing all it can to optimise both this year and next year.
“I don’t know what their constraints are,” he said of Mercedes.
“Obviously they are a bigger organisation than we are, so the cost cap is having a significant impact on their planning and how they have managed during the COVID period. We’ve managed to keep the body of the team very much together.
“I can’t judge other organisations without having all the facts, so all I can do is focus on what we are doing, and we are very comfortable with the approach we are taking.
“Obviously if they are two seconds ahead of us at the first race next year, that will be disappointing. But I feel we’ve got the balance about right at the moment.”