Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner has hailed a “great performance” from the Red Bull team, calling it a “tremendous” way to sign off the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Horner’s drivers Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo came home first and third respectively, at what was the final race in Malaysia. This result marked a change in the fortunes of the team, though particularly for one member – Max Verstappen.
Having failed to finish seven of the fifteen races so far this season, Verstappen took only his second ever career victory at the Sepang track – a sign that Horner believes means there’s more to come.
“A great performance by the whole team today and fantastic to see Max get a well-deserved victory, after enduring so much bad luck throughout the season.
“I said when Max’s luck would change it would change in a dramatic way and it’s difficult to believe the last time he was on the podium was at the beginning of April in China. Today he drove a truly dominant race, making a sensational pass on Lewis and then really controlling the race from there.
Ricciardo, on the other hand, was able to pass Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver Valtteri Bottas and hold a charging Sebastian Vettel behind on his way to completing the double-podium for the team.
“Daniel, after starting on the wet side of the grid, initially dropped a place to Valtteri but worked hard to get the pass done, which is incredibly hard at this circuit, and then managed to save enough in hand to fend off a fast-recovering Sebastian at the end of the race.
“It’s tremendous for us to sign off the last grand prix in Malaysia with a double podium and a victory, the fifth that we’ve achieved here. Our thanks to the Malaysian Grand Prix and to the many fans in Malaysia who support Red Bull; we celebrate with you today.”
