Red Bull F1 team representative Christian Horner revealed that if Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) had not pitted during the VSC (Virtual Safety Car) period at the beginning of the F1 Italian GP, Max Verstappen could have been put in. rice field.
Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin stop on track caused a VSC on lap 11 and Ferrari used the opportunity to change Charles Leclerc’s tyres.
The move moved Charles Leclerc to a two-stop strategy early in the race, throwing him out of balance with Max Verstappen on a one-stop strategy.
Some question whether Ferrari’s decision to stop was a mistake, but rivals Red Bull believe it was a viable option at the time.
But the final deciding factor was that Ferrari didn’t have the pace to match Red Bull.
Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner said on Sunday night he would have been ready to pit Max Verstappen had Charles Leclerc not stopped during the VSC, but strategy was the decisive factor in the race I don’t think it was.
“I understood why they did that,” said Horner.
“I think we had a faster car. Strategically they made a great decision. I think we had the faster package anyway today. I think
Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Mattia Binotto said the team realized early in the race that they did not have the speed or tire life to match Max Verstappen with the same strategy.
“In hindsight, I believe we made the right decision when the safety car was brought out at that point in the race,” Mattia Binotto told VSC Cole.
“We knew Charles had good pace, but Max had better tire degradation and he was already faster than us. They would have defeated us sooner or later.”
“So our only chance was to somehow change our strategy. It was a bit unfortunate that the VSC ended while we were still in the pitlane and we didn’t get all the potential benefits of the VSC. But today Max was generally fast and I think it was impossible to beat him.”
Mattia Binotto says teams have to try something different in their strategy if they are fighting faster cars if they want to come out on top.
“It’s not difficult, it’s impossible to beat a fast car,” said Mattia Binotto.
“Usually you can win if you have a fast car, but the only thing you might do is make a mistake with your strategy.”
“[Regarding Max]whatever the strategy was, he would have won. That’s the point. But it wasn’t the wrong decision to pit and give Charles two stops. The race. We don’t know what happens in the second half, we don’t know what the tire degradation will be with Max’s longer stint.”
“For example, looking back at George[Russell]the gap that Charles created on George at the end of the race was big and comfortable.
“So on the whole it wasn’t a risk. Let me say a gamble that could turn into a positive choice.”
Category: F1 / red bull / F1 Italian Grand Prix