Red Bull team boss Christian Horner reflects on the Miami Grand Prix with mixed feelings. According to Horner, the team simply had no answer to the speed of McLaren – the papayas were unstoppable, scoring a one-two in Florida. Max Verstappen had to settle for fourth place, after being overtaken by George Russell in the final stages, who took advantage of a virtual safety car.
“Yes, McLaren was simply running a different race today,” Horner stated afterwards. “Max (Verstappen) fought hard to keep them behind him early in the race and did a great job. I was honestly surprised that he managed to keep them at bay for so long. But in the end, we just couldn’t race against them.” The hope for a podium finish evaporated in the second half of the race, when Verstappen lost third position to George Russell. The Mercedes driver took full advantage of the virtual safety car and made a ‘free’ pit stop.
Hoping for Rain
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose here,” Horner sighed. “George (Russell) was a bit lucky with the VSC. He started on the hard tyre, which gave him more flexibility. Mercedes’ pit stop was not perfect, but they still came out on track ahead of us. That’s just how it goes sometimes.” Like Horner, Max Verstappen was also not surprised that McLaren took the win in Miami. The Dutchman declared afterwards to be ‘completely hopeless’ against his British competitors.
Red Bull was still hoping for rain to turn the race in Verstappen’s favour, but it didn’t come. “I think everyone was looking forward to a bit of rainfall – McLaren was simply out of reach in dry conditions,” Horner admitted. “They were really in a different class today.”
