Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner praised a “solid performance” from his team following the Spanish Grand Prix, in which driver Max Verstappen secured the team’s 150th podium.
Verstappen’s third place gave Red Bull their 150th podium in their 250th race, and was the young Dutchman’s first podium finish of the season. Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo‘s fifth place helped the Milton Keynes-based team close the gap to second-placed Scuderia Ferrari.
Red Bull now stand sixth in the list of teams with the most podiums, behind Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport (161), Lotus (172), Williams Martini Racing (312), McLaren F1 Team (485) and Scuderia Ferrari (732).
Commenting on both the 150th and Verstappen’s podium, Horner said the finish will give Verstappen some confidence following a “tricky” first four races.
“A solid performance today, picking up a podium, and our 150th podium which is notable and deserved achievement for the team. It is also Max’s first podium of the season which will be a good confidence boost for him after enduring a tricky first four races.”
Turning his attention to the race, Horner said Red Bull’s pace was indicative of the strong upgrades they brought to the circuit, and that their result showed the pace of their car.
“We had strong pace in the race today and managed to make the soft tyre go pretty much to half distance. The pit stops got us onto the medium tyre which was always going to put us in better shape for the last twenty-five per cent of the race.
“Unfortunately Max sustained some damage in contact with the Williams of Lance Stroll under the Virtual Safety Car but even with that damage he had enough pace in hand to maintain track position ahead of Sebastian and make the podium.
“Daniel had some consolation in his race with the fastest lap proving the strength of the upgrades brought to Spain this weekend. Unfortunately he lost a bit of ground with a spin during the VSC period but once again we’ve seen that we have a competitive race car.”
