Mercedes 'moving spotlight' on to Red Bull "all part of the game" - Horner

Christian Horner feels Mercedes has been 'playing games' in pre-season by declaring Red Bull as favourites ahead of the new Formula 1 campaign.

Team principal Horner readily acknowledges Red Bull enjoyed a solid three days of testing that have laid the foundations for the record-breaking 23-race calendar that lies ahead.

In tandem with Mercedes' problems with its W12 that suffered from instability at the rear of the car and appeared to lack Red Bull's pace, there is hope and expectation of a more sustained title fight this season.

Recognising the rising anticipation, Horner said: "There is no denying that after the smooth running of the three-day test in Bahrain, there seems to be an excitement out there that we can end Mercedes' seven-year dominance of F1.

"But we had a debrief within the team after the test and it is fair to say we are a little more cautious on the subject and we cannot underestimate the size of the challenge ahead of us on many fronts.

"We know that Mercedes have not won by mistake for the past seven years; they are a quality, class team that will be motivated to come back strong.

"We saw it a couple of years ago where there was a similar story during pre-season testing and then they smashed it out of the park at the first race in Melbourne, so you cannot take anything for granted."

Horner maintains the team is only focusing on itself, shrugging aside the psychological warfare seemingly being waged by Mercedes.

"At this stage, it is good that we have a solid basis from which to develop the car, rather than fixing an inherent problem," added Horner.

"Of course, Mercedes are trying to move the spotlight away from themselves, which is all part of the game, but the reality is they are the reigning seven-time world champions and it is down to us to close that gap and put up a fight.

"They had one of their strongest seasons last year and this year's car is an evolution of that, so let’s see what we all have in Bahrain and the rest will follow."

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