Red Bull Formula 1 team principal Christian Horner says his win at the United States Grand Prix, which would have taken him to the constructors’ title in 2022, felt “like a script” to pay tribute to the late Dietrich Mateschitz. Told.
The success of this double came just a day after the death of Red Bull founder and co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, an event hinted at by Christian Horner that made Max Verstappen even more determined to win. did.
Max Verstappen looked poised to take the win with ease until a problem with his left front tire took him 11.1 seconds into his pit stop, dropping him back to third.
However, as he had done before, Verstappen quickly moved up the order and eventually overtook Lewis Hamilton for the lead, tying the record for most wins of the season with 13 wins of the season.
“I think Max had a very controlled race today,” said Horner.
“And when Max had a gun problem on the second stop, it all came to life, and we had already chosen the medium because we felt it was the better tire.”
“He lost maybe eight seconds in the pit stop, so he was pushed behind Charles[Leclerc]and had to close the gap on Lewis. And what he has to do through the field is It was like it was written in a script.”
“Dietrich would have enjoyed watching from above to overtake Mercedes with five or six laps to go and win the Constructors’ World Championship. I think he was very proud of today’s race. “
Regarding the wheelgun issue, Christian Horner said: “We had it once in practice. It went into quarantine. We’ll go through the process and find out what happened.”
Christian Horner said he had to be patient and pace himself after Max Verstappen showed frustration at the long pit stop, but he was on medium while Lewis Hamilton was stuck on hard. Red Bull’s stronger pace helped him fight back.
“I think we were probably more competitive on the medium than on the hard, so we went back to the medium on that second stop.”
“And obviously his pace was strong enough at the end of the stint to catch up with Lewis. He slid the car and looked like he was pushing the car very hard.”
“So it was a game of patience and I think Max was able to quickly get his frustration under control and leave the pitlane, use the tires better instead of cooking them, pass Charles and chase Lewis down. “
“In one decisive opportunity given to him, he got the job done.”
Given the sad circumstances, Christian Horner said he had a strong feeling that Max Verstappen would not settle for second place, but would hunt down Lewis Hamilton and take the win.
“With 10 laps to go, finishing second in the race today, I don’t know if that was the result we all wanted,” added Horner.
“I think Max had the determination to go into the race and I think he was always running towards victory.”
“Today we made his job more difficult and the crowd more enjoyable, but he did it in the best possible way and to win a Grand Prix here and seal the Constructors’ Championship is incredible. It was a very special moment for us as a team and as a company.”
“And we did it the weekend we lost Dietrich. I want to dedicate this championship to him and his family, not just for Red Bull Racing, but for everything he’s done for F1.”
Category: F1 / red bull / F1 US Grand Prix / Max Verstappen