Hamilton v Verstappen what F1 has been "crying out" for - Horner

Team principal Christian Horner hopes Red Bull's early-season form can provide the battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton that F1 has "been crying out for".

Verstappen narrowly missed out on victory in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix before making amends with a sublime, error-free drive at Imola last weekend to close to within a single point of his rival.

Mercedes has dominated F1 since 2014 with seven consecutive drivers' and constructors' championship doubles but Horner expects a great battle this year.

"We've now had a sample of two races. I always said it would take four races or so to see a true reflection of the competitive positions of each of the teams," said Horner.

"After two races we are starting to see that a pattern that the cars and drivers are very, very tight between Lewis and Max. At the moment it's marginal gains here and there.

"We see that they've very good range and degradation but definitely it cements the pace we had in the Bahrain test and Bahrain.

"We've now managed to bounce back after the disappointment of losing that Bahrain race to win in Imola, which is fantastic.

"I hope, selfishly for us, but also for Formula 1, they are crying out for a great rivalry between these two drivers, and the sport will benefit from that."

When asked if there would be big battles between the two in every race, Horner remarked: "That's probably going to be what you guys want."

He added: "I'm sure there are going to be circuits, as the season pans out, there will be strengths and weaknesses that play to both teams.

"But there is such a long way to go that again, it will probably [take] approximately four races you will get a clearer picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the two teams and cars."

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