Formula One: Christian Horner makes bold claim about Mercedes and Ferrari

Red Bull Racing Formula One team principal Christian Horner has made quite a bold claim about Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport and Scuderia Ferrari.

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has stated what he feels to be true about Formula One teams Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsports and Scuderia Ferrari, and it is quite a bold statement to say the very least.

Horner, 44, believes that Mercedes and Ferrari, the two Formula One teams and constructors with the biggest rivalry in the sport in recent years, are working together to form the landscape of Formula One’s future.

Here is what Horner had to say about the matter, according to ESPN.

"“Mercedes and Ferrari are working as one team these days. Sometimes it is difficult to tell which is which. For the last couple of years there has been a very tight relationship between Ferrari and Mercedes. They even broadcast each other’s launches and things like that these days.”"

Horner feels this to be the case as a result of the fact that both Mercedes and Ferrari threatened to leave Formula One after the 2021 season if Liberty Media, the company that purchased Formula One last January, has their way when it comes to new engine regulations at that time.

Horner also pointed out the close relationship between the two teams in recent years, including the fact that Mercedes broadcasted Ferrari’s 2018 car launch shortly after broadcasting their own last week.

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However, there is certainly no doubt that the two teams are the fiercest of rivals, which raises the question as to how legitimate Horner’s claims truly are. Mercedes and Ferrari battled for the constructors championship last season, while Red Bull Racing were a distant 3rd place in that battle throughout the year. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari Sebastian Vettel battled for the drivers championship last season as well.

In fact, they even had a controversial incident in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix coming to a restart. Vettel felt that Hamilton, who was leading the race at the time, brake checked him, and as a result of this, Vettel angrily pulled up beside Hamilton and slammed into his car. As it turns out, Hamilton didn’t even brake check him after all.

When it was all said and done, Hamilton won the championship and Vettel finished in 2nd place in the drivers standings. Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas finished in 3rd in the standings, while Vettel’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen finished in 4th after making the jump from 5th to 4th in the final race, as he passed Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo finished in 5th place in the standings, while his teammate Max Verstappen finished in 6th. As a result, Red Bull Racing did come away with a 3rd place finish in the constructors standings in what was essentially their own tier behind Mercedes and Ferrari but ahead of Sahara Force India.

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Are Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport and Scuderia Ferrari working together, or is Christian Horner falsely assuming that that is the case? The 2018 Formula One season is set to get underway in less than a month with the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, March 25th. Tune in to ESPN2 to watch the race live starting at 1:10 am ET.

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