Christian Horner says dominant F1 leaders McLaren attract scrutiny

Formula 1 champions and leaders McLaren will attract more scrutiny and face more questions about their cars simply because they are so dominant, according to Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

McLaren have won five of six races this season and took a dominant one-two in Miami on Sunday, with championship leader Oscar Piastri ahead of teammate Lando Norris while George Russell’s third-placed Mercedes was more than half a minute behind.

There was plenty of chatter about tyre temperatures afterwards, and questions about how McLaren were managing better than others to keep them under control.

After unsubstantiated suspicions last year, without any formal protest, that McLaren might be putting water in the rear tyres to cool them down, team boss Zak Brown ostentatiously sipped from a drinking bottle with ‘tire water’ stickers on it.

He also made the point that anyone suspecting his team of illegality should launch a formal protest if they really believed it.

“I’m not suggesting that there’s anything illegal on the car,” Horner, who had Max Verstappen start on pole but finish fourth, told reporters. “Well done to McLaren, they were in a league of their own.

“Of course in Formula 1 there are always going to be questions that are raised.

[McLaren] did exactly the same about the front suspension on our car last year. So it’s inevitable when you’re running at the front, as we have for the last few years, you always come under more scrutiny.

“McLaren have got the car to beat at the moment, that’s quite clear. They’re going to be tough to beat over the next few races.”

McLaren are already 105 points clear of second-placed Mercedes.

“We’re just not good with the tires over an extended run. And McLaren shows how it’s being done,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

“They’re clearly doing a great job, especially with how they manage to maintain high cornering speeds without causing their tyres to overheat. That’s something we need to learn from and find technical solutions for ourselves.”

Wolff praised McLaren’s leadership, including Zak Brown, team principal Andrea Stella, and chief designer Rob Marshall, calling them “honest and capable individuals.”

“I fully believe they’re operating within the rules. It’s simply strong engineering progress. They’ve figured out tyre management better than the rest, and I think it’s completely legitimate.”

“Their progress really began in Austria two years ago, when they introduced an upgrade that performed beyond expectations. Since then, they’ve continued to improve, particularly in tyre handling.”

Wolff emphasized that Mercedes needs to pinpoint where to direct their development efforts and understand what’s driving performance.

“And we’re working on it—fully engaged. We’re not caught off guard. We’re investigating, testing, and we absolutely intend to fight back.”