P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Red Bull Formula 1 boss Christian Horner admits the team was “very surprised” when Mercedes’ W14 car initially retained the
Mercedes finished second in the championship this season, but they were still far behind Red Bull, who dominated with 21 wins out of 22 races. After a disappointing start to the season, Mercedes decided to abandon their original car concept and introduced a revised car with conventional bodywork from Monaco. Although they made improvements with a downwash sidepod concept, the design limitations of their launch-spec car prevented them from achieving their first winless season since 2011. Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, was surprised that Mercedes stuck with their failed concepts from the previous year, while also mentioning that Ferrari’s performance was unexpected. Red Bull’s dominance in Bahrain and their victory in Australia confirmed the strength of their RB19 package, but Horner emphasized the need for more races to get a clear overview of the season.
