Red Bull fire warning to McLaren after what Christian Horner spotted 'behind the scenes'

says are building Drivers' Championship momentum following Max Verstappen's triumph at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Verstappen executed a brilliant first-corner move on pole-sitter Oscar Piastri, propelling himself to his second season victory in what was Red Bull's 400th Formula One event.

Lando Norris secured second place with a late manoeuvre on McLaren team-mate Piastri, narrowing the Aussie's lead in the championship to 13 points, while Verstappen remains just 22 points behind before the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix. Throughout the race, Verstappen proved quicker than the McLaren duo, maintaining supremacy even after a safety car period threatened his position at the front.

Red Bull team principal Horner was thrilled with the team outclassing McLaren in terms of speed and is optimistic that this indicates positive signs for Verstappen's pursuit of his fifth consecutive drivers' title.

"It's been a very positive weekend and I think we're building a bit of momentum, which is important at this stage in the championship," said Horner.

"To have the pace that we did in the race, I would say that's probably, since certainly Brazil last year - which was a wet race - the first time I can remember in a long time we've had the pace to really pull away and out-deg the McLarens.

"A second win and arguably we should have won in Jeddah. It's an important win for the team at this stage of the championship, it feels like we're building a little bit of momentum behind the scenes.

"It's a timely win championship wise. It keeps the pressure on and keeps us in touch."

Despite the ongoing speculation about Verstappen's future amid a challenging start to the season where Red Bull trailed behind McLaren, Horner commended the Dutchman's dedication to propelling the team forward.

"All year he's been working hard behind the scenes. He's been very supportive in the team," Horner remarked. "There's always a lot of noise outside of our team but never inside and everybody is just focused on the job.

"Everybody is leaving Imola upbeat about the upcoming races."

McLaren's strategic decision not to let Norris overtake Piastri during the safety-car restart to challenge Verstappen was a point of discussion. Norris had to execute a daring pass on his team-mate with five laps left, narrowly avoiding contact.

"I think today we had the pace to cover whatever they could throw at us," Horner added. "Obviously they've got two drivers who are fighting for a world championship.

"At some point, self interest will always outweigh team interest. So they did a good job to not make contact. It was commendable that they were allowed to race but you could see how close it got."