Christian Horner admitted the British Grand Prix was not without its challenges for the Oracle Red Bull Racing team, but it still saw another victory for Max Verstappen, his eighth of the season, and the eleventh win in a row for the team.
Red Bull equalled the record of consecutive wins by a single team at Silverstone, the eleventh win matching the record set by the all-conquering McLaren F1 Team in 1988, but unlike in recent races, Verstappen was put under more pressure than expected.
Lando Norris took the lead away from the Dutchman at the start, and although he was able to reclaim the position after just a few laps, the McLaren F1 Team driver never let him get away at the front. A switch in strategy also played its part as the soft tyre was used instead of the hard compound for the final stint, against their initial plans going into the race.
Horner, the Team Principal at Red Bull, says the switch to the soft tyre was made after seeing what George Russell was able to achieve with it in the first stint, but it made the second half of the race more challenging.
“The first British GP win for the Team since 2012, Max’s second win at Silverstone and our eleventh win in a row makes this a very special victory; but not without its challenges,” said Horner.
“We had expected it to be a medium hard race but with the performance of George on the softs, we started to consider our strategy.
“Then with the safety car in the final quarter, we felt that the soft tyre would give Max the best opportunity to break the DRS effect and he very quickly put 2 seconds between himself and the pack.
“From there it was a case of managing the rest of the race and once again, Max more than rose to the occasion.”
Horner also praised the work done by Sergio Pérez, who moved up from fifteenth on the grid to finish sixth, the Mexican pulling off some good overtakes a long the way.
“Equally, Checo found fine form today,” Horner added. “Some of his moves in the race exemplify exactly how skilful he is as a driver, particularly on Carlos [Sainz Jr.] into Stowe and his pace in the last stint meant he was right there.
“Its frustrating for him that he has had to fight back after qualifying in recent races but he is finding his form and will find it further in Budapest.”
