Red Bull working on 'deficiencies' cure after emerging from 'choppy waters'

Christian Horner knows it is vital Red Bull quickly improve the "deficiencies" of its car to avoid potential pitfalls later in the season when the RB20 could again be exposed. Team principal Horner was naturally delighted to see his team emerge from what he has described as "choppy water" with two wins from the last three grands prix when the car's weaknesses have been exposed. Under pressure from rivals Ferrari and McLaren, and now also Mercedes, a stiffer suspension on the car has resulted in it struggling to ride kerbs and bumps. Although Monaco, with its greater propensity of kerbs magnified the problems, Verstappen just held on for victory in the prior race in Imola, and delivered a consummate drive through the changeable conditions and circumstances in Canada. The feeling now is Red Bull will resume its prior domination going into the upcoming return to Europe and the triple-header in Spain, Austria and Great Britain, although Horner is wary of a more robust challenge from the other three teams than has been the case in the recent past. "The last couple of races have been more choppy water for us but we've still managed to win two out of the last three," said Horner, speaking to media, including RacingNews365. "We were on pole in Imola, and we matched the pole time [in Canada] with a car where both drivers felt its deficiencies. "There's a lot of focus on that to see if we can improve because we know the circuits later in the year, like Singapore and so on, it could be a factor. "We really expect Ferrari and McLaren, certainly, and Mercedes came into that window [in Canada], to be competitive at every circuit. "Despite the fact that we've won six out of the nine races [this season], we're going to have to be really at the top of our game to keep eking out a gap." Mercedes made its long-overdue return to the fight at the front in Montreal where George Russell scored the team's first pole position for 20 months. Although Verstappen matched Russell with an identical time, the fact the Briton posted his lap first gave him the edge. Russell was unable to convert that into a victory, although there was enough to suggest from the W15 that its performance around an outlier of a track such as the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was not a one-off. Horner is wary to give Mercedes too much credit for now for the apparent progress made, believing it can only be judged after the next two or three grands prix. "Mercedes has always gone very well on green circuits, and there were no real high-speed corners," said Horner, referring to the Canadian GP venue that also underwent a resurfacing over the winter. "So with the asphalt changes, it possibly played to their strengths. Let's see over the next two or three tracks, if it's really genuine form, or if it's a one off."