Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner was pleased with Max Verstappen’s strong win at the Italian Grand Prix, though he was disappointed to see a competitive race end under safety car conditions.
“We would have liked to have seen the race play out today, we certainly didn’t want to win under a safety car. We believe there was enough time to get the race going but the safety car picked up George Russell which delayed proceedings. Despite that, we believe we had enough pace in hand on the one stop strategy.”
Horner said that Perez’s recovery to sixth place from his starting position of thirteenth after a grid penalty was “great”, though he faced troubles related to his brakes in his first stint. He added that Verstappen was essentially unstoppable against home favorites Scuderia Ferrari.
“Checo had to pit early because there was a flat spot, a lot of vibration, then a bit of debris got into the ducts which caused a small fire, but his recovery from there was great. Fastest lap for Checo too, so important points for him and the team.
“Max was yet again so impressive, even if they had the fastest car, I’m not sure if anyone could stop Max today.”
Proud of the team’s stellar performance both this weekend and the entirety of the season, Horner had no regrets when it came to taking grid penalties this weekend, as they were able to overcome being out of position to pull off a great result.
“The whole team has been performing at such a high level all season and our performance all weekend has been brilliant. We know we compromised quali slightly yesterday but it paid off. More challenges lie ahead with Singapore and beyond so we look forward to that.
“Ultimately it was a somber race for obvious reasons but we are happy we could bring home the win with Her Majesty’s insignia on the nose of the car and we dedicate the victory to the life and memory of HRH, Queen Elizabeth II.”
