Red Bull says it now has “nothing to lose” in the 2020 Formula 1 season and says it will be treating every grand prix akin to a “cup final.”
Mercedes has controlled the majority of the 2020 campaign, taking all nine pole positions and seven victories, and holds a commanding 152-point lead over Red Bull in the standings.
In turn Red Bull has a 67-point buffer over third-placed McLaren.
Max Verstappen inflicted a first 2020 defeat upon Mercedes at Silverstone but after back-to-back engine-related retirements across the Italian events is now 80 points behind Lewis Hamilton.
“Championship wise, we are very much outsiders now and every race is a cup final for us,” said Horner in his column for Red Bull’s website.
“We are just going to go for it as we have nothing to lose. We are determined to get ourselves back into a position to contend for championships and we will get there.
“Mercedes are setting the bar high at the moment and are doing a great job, but everybody is beatable.
“You just have to work hard, work smart and have the right people around you and I very much believe that is the case in this team.”
Formula 1’s next event will take place in Russia, at the Sochi Autodrom, where Mercedes has not been beaten since the circuit joined the calendar in 2014.
“I expect Mercedes to be fired up and pretty dominant as it is their type of track, but as we have seen this season tyre degradation is an interesting factor,” he said.
“They weren’t stretched last weekend [at Mugello] but you could hear how nervous they were, instructing their drivers to stay off the kerbs.
“It would be great if we can be competitive in Sochi and put them under a little bit of pressure, because that is when things can happen.”
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