Christian Horner admitted it was impossible for Red Bull Racing to cover both drivers from the attack from Sebastian Vettel at the Hungaroring on Sunday, and as such focused on keeping Daniel Ricciardo ahead.
The Team Principal of Red Bull was happy to be able to keep Ricciardo ahead of Vettel until the chequered flag to secure his first podium since Monaco in May, even if it meant sacrificing track position for Max Verstappen, who was forced to settle for fifth.
Horner defended the driving of Verstappen as he defended his position from the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen over the closing stages of the race, believing it was a fair battle between the two, and the combined results at the Hungaroring mean Red Bull and Ferrari are now separated by just one point in the Constructors’ Championship.
“After a promising start, it was impossible to cover Sebastian (Vettel) with both cars, so we covered with the lead car which was Daniel,” said Horner. “Therefore unfortunately Max dropped behind after the first round of stops and thereafter both drivers entered into battles with the respective Ferrari drivers, Daniel versus Seb and Max versus Kimi (Raikkonen).
“There was some great racing between the four of them, some robust defending from our guys particularly Max, who was firm but fair holding off Kimi. It was great to see Daniel finishing on the podium again, and to close the gap on Ferrari to within one point at the halfway point of the year.”
