Daniel Ricciardo came 0.4s close to winning last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, which would have been Red Bull’s second success this year after Max Verstappen’s stunning debut for the team in Barcelona.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit should have actually won in Monaco as well, but for a costly pit stop error that denied Ricciardo. Given Red Bull’s power deficit to Mercedes, the Australian had singled out Marina Bay’s tight and twisty venue as his best chance to make the most of its efficient RB12 chassis.
“[Daniel] got pretty close, he got within half a second and we beat one of the Mercedes fair and square,” Horner said. “Hopefully opportunities will present themselves over the remaining six races.
“But Mercedes have been so strong at every venue, it’s going to rely on something different happening. Weather conditions, tyre degradation, something like that.”
Red Bull is the only team to have defeated Mercedes in 2016, though Verstappen’s record-breaking success in Spain came after both Silver Arrows took each other out on the opening lap.
