Christian Horner gets last laugh over Mercedes as Red Bull chief dishes out brutal reply

Christian Horner has poked fun at Mercedes after James Allison claimed that Red Bull’s upgrade package was in fact a ‘downgrade’, highlighting the fact that his star driver Max Verstappen still beat a new-and-improved W15.

Mercedes arrived in Montreal on a mission. The Silver Arrows were immediately on the pace with both drivers in free practice after Hamilton received the upgrade package that George Russell had fitted to his car two weeks prior in Monte Carlo.

This promise was then converted into a result as Russell pipped Verstappen to pole position following a dead heat between the two drivers. However, this was the point at which Mercedes’ weekend peaked, and during the race, it was the Red Bull driver who stretched his legs, leading home Lando Norris and the No.63 car for his sixth win of the year.

Ahead of the race, Mercedes technical director Allison made some bold predictions about Red Bull’s recent developments. "I guess as soon as there's a decent range of cornering speeds, they'll be useful again, but it does look as if their upgrade was a downgrade,” he said.

“So fingers crossed that will really f*** them up,” he added, jokingly, before stating: That makes life hard because the moment you stop trusting your tools, you have to backtrack, and you lose loads of time."

After Allison’s assessment of Red Bull’s upgrade package was proven wrong with Verstappen’s victory in Canada, Horner took some time to revel in his rivals' misfortune. "Well, even with our downgrade, we managed to beat their upgrade,” he hit back. “So it was a rewarding race to win."

Despite his savage comments, Horner didn’t rule out the possibility that their strong performance in Montreal would prove to be more than just a flash in the pan for Toto Wolff and his crew.

"I think Mercedes have always gone very well on green circuits, and there were no real high-speed corners here, so with the asphalt change, it played possibly to their strengths,” he explained. “So I think, let's see over the next two or three tracks if it's genuine form or if it's a one-off."

The upcoming race in Barcelona will be a perfect test for the upgraded W15 given it represents a return to a more traditional purpose-built road course following unique street races in Miami, Monte Carlo and Montreal.