Horner hopes to close gap on Mercedes in 2017

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  • Christian Horner.

    Regulation changes for next year mean cars are expected to be heavier and faster and while it’s still unclear how drastic the changes will be, Horner sees it as a chance to try and up the pressure on Mercedes, who have won the last three drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

    The Silver Arrows won 19 out of 21 races in 2016, with Red Bull being the only other team able to grab victories, as Max Verstappen triumphed in Spain and Daniel Ricciardo topped the podium in Malaysia.

    The Austrian marque finished second in the constructors’ championship but they were almost 300 points behind Mercedes.

    “It’s been an amazing season. Our expectations at the beginning of the year were to get in the top-five so to emerge as the nearest challenger to Mercedes, second in the Constructors’, won two grands prix, in Barcelona, Max the youngest ever winner in F1, Daniel achieving a one-two finish in Malaysia plus 14 other podiums, it’s been an incredible year for us,” said Horner.

    “(For next year, with the regulation changes) I think yes, absolutely, we see it as an opportunity. There’s no guarantees, Mercedes will be firmly the favourites next year but we’re hoping to close that gap down and hopefully during the course of next year take the challenge to them.”

    Mercedes’ dominance, which was preceded by a similar stretch by Red Bull, has left F1 in an uncompetitive state, which has contributed to the fact that less and less people are interested in the sport. Official figures claim that F1 has lost 200 million TV viewers since 2008 and little is being done to stop the bleeding.

    The rain-hit race in Brazil two weeks ago saw a spike in TV viewership and F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone believes the multiple interruptions made it more compelling for fans. It prompted him to suggest that a grand prix weekend should feature two shorter races, instead of one long one.

    “I’m not a big fan of that,” says Horner.

    “I think there’s only one Wimbledon final or one grand slam final. Two races, I don’t think is the way to go, you just need to make the one race a good one.”

    On what he believes can make the sport more attractive, Horner added: “I think competition between teams, we saw already in Brazil a spike in TV audiences is significantly up just because of the quality of the race. I think we just need more strong racing.”

    Red Bull driver, Ricciardo, is not as sure as his boss when it comes to the idea of having two shorter races.

    “If we could race twice on a weekend it could be more fun, I don’t know, I mean the more racing the better I guess,” said the Aussie.

    “But now I’m probably going to contradict myself because Jenson (Button) made a comment saying maybe shorter races are better and I kind of think it could work in some places as well.

    “It depends, I mean Mexico we had some action towards the end of the race but then some races you feel they drag on a lot. I don’t know. Two shorter races could be ideal, but I don’t know. It’s a tough one. I’d like to race on Saturday and then have Sunday off.”

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