Christian Horner predicts 2020 tussle between top 3 teams

Red Bull principal Christian Horner believes Formula 1 fans are in for a "classic" battle between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull this season.

Stable regulations and driver line-ups between 2019 and 2020 offer hope that the convergence of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull that we saw at the top of F1 in 2019 can continue into the new season.

If it does then we could be in for a classic in 2020. Red Bull have already eased fears of their traditional slow start to a campaign by saying they are ahead of schedule with their new challenger, and boss Horner thinks that only a team “pulling a rabbit out of a hat” can cost them that three-way battle.

He is quoted by Motorsport.com, saying: “We’ve got continuity across all aspects of next year with drivers, with regulations, with engine supply, engine regulation.

"So unless somebody pulls a rabbit out of a hat, then I think we’re set for a really exciting year next year between, Mercedes, Ferrari, ourselves. And it could be a real classic season.”

No poor start

Horner was quizzed though on Red Bull’s habit of starting a season poorly, but he explained why he doesn’t see it happening this time around.

He explained: “The front wing regulation change, and the tyre change over the winter seemed to affect us perhaps more than our opponents. And of course also, at that time we were still catching up from the power perspective. But I think from Austria onwards, we really got on top of that and the second half of the year for us has been very competitive."

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“I mean, if I look back to 2017, we had a fantastic car at the start of the year, we should have been on the front row in Melbourne, we won the second race in China. We had a very, very competitive car, the beginning of ‘17. And again, that was with stability of regulations, and I think we have that again from 2019 into ‘20.

“You can’t gauge what others are doing. But hopefully, theoretically, the Melbourne (2020) car will be an upgrade of the Abu Dhabi (2019) car.”