A ‘flat-out’ battle between four F1 teams for the next 18 months?

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has predicted a “flat-out” battle between four F1 teams over the next 18 months.

Reigning world champions Red Bull began the new season in dominant fashion, with Max Verstappen winning four of the first five races. But the gaps have closed since, with McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari all becoming more competitive as the campaign has developed.

Red Bull no longer appear to boast the fastest car and Verstappen has not won for five races, with his last victory coming at the Spanish Grand Prix in June.

Mercedes have won three of the past four events, while Oscar Piastri headed a McLaren 1-2 in Hungary.

In total, seven different drivers have taken turns winning a grand prix across the opening 14 races of the 2024 campaign.

And Horner believes that trend will continue, having predicted the field will merge in competitiveness until new regulations are introduced in 2026.

“I think it’s great for the sport, and it was almost inevitable when you get consistency of regulations, you always get convergence,” Horner explained.

“I remember when I first came into Formula 1, Ron Dennis banging that drum back in 2005. Convergence has always brought the teams together.

“Of course we have a big regulations change in 2026 that will cause divergence but, between now and then, the next 18 months I think it will be flat-out between the four teams.”

While Verstappen still holds a healthy lead in the drivers’ championship, the battle for glory in the constructors’ standings remains wide open, with McLaren only 42 points behind Red Bull with 10 races to go.

“Extending the lead going into the summer break for Max will give him a better rest,” Horner added. “For us the focus is on the constructors’, where we’ve seen another seven or eight points taken off us again [at Spa].

“We need to turn that around coming out of the break in Zandvoort.”