14 May 2023 , 10:55
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Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has remained tight-lipped over whether he believes Mercedes have a new car ahead of the Italian Grand Prix next weekend.
It was reported before the start of the 2023 season that Mercedes had made upgrades and were running a completely different car for the new campaign. However, Red Bull are still running away with it at the top of the Constructors' Championship, having collected 224 points - 128 more than third-place Mercedes.
Aston Martin sit second with Fernando Alonso enduring a terrific season so far, but Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes have struggled despite the change in car. Hamilton is fourth in the Drivers' Championship, with team-mate Russell down in sixth.
Meanwhile, Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are flying at the top of the standings and Horner's team have won every single Grand Prix this term. "I think it is a massively tall order to win every race," Horner told the Financial Times.
"You have 23 races, street circuits, weather will probably turn up at Silverstone, reliability, strategy, an element of luck. To win 23 races is unimaginable.
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"We have won the first five and that is by far the best start we have had to a season. We want to keep that rolling for as long as we can and take one race at a time.
Mercedes have struggled so far this season (Getty Images)"There are always things that can change. We are heading back into the European season and there are big upgrades coming. If you believe Mercedes, they have a completely new car."
Asked whether he believes Mercedes, Horner smiled and said: "I am not going to answer that question. Ferrari have upgrades coming and the competition will start to come through. It is very easy to get carried away but there are developments in the pipeline with other teams that will only converge the grid."
As for Hamilton, former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan admitted Hamilton should try and get out Mercedes with his contract running out at the end of this year. Jordan said: "My only concern is that Lewis has to find something else in his mojo now and he needs to get out of there. He needs to move on, just like he did with McLaren. Get out of Mercedes, Lewis! It's time you reinvented yourself somewhere else."