The 2023 Austrian GP marked the first time Red Bull had been racing at their dwelling occasion since the loss of life of co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz; Max Verstappen received the race and Sergio Perez was third; Watch the British GP reside on Sky Sports F1 from July 7-9
Last Updated: 02/07/23 8:07pm
Highlights of the Austrian Grand Prix, the tenth race of the season
Highlights of the Austrian Grand Prix, the tenth race of the season
Christian Horner says Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz was in the again of his thoughts when deciding whether or not to pit Max Verstappen for the fastest lap of the race at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Verstappen was dominating Red Bull’s dwelling occasion and had greater than a pit cease’s hole to Charles Leclerc in second place.
Initially, Red Bull had been reluctant to pit the championship chief however Verstappen got here in for gentle tyres and set the fastest lap on the closing lap to take the bonus level.
“It was an outstanding weekend. Max has had tremendous pace all weekend. The strategy we took was slightly different to our competitors so it meant he had to make the overtakes on track as well,” mentioned Horner. “I think he was waving at Charles as he passed him! So a stunning weekend.
“It’s the first time we now have been right here since Dietrich’s passing. It felt very poignant that it was a fantastic staff efficiency right this moment. We determined to go for the fastest lap on the final lap, regardless of the threat concerned of fluffing a pit cease – it was at the again of my thoughts, his mantra was all the time, ‘No threat, no enjoyable’.
“The mechanics have been in such great form that it seemed a low-risk thing in the end.”
After profitable the Austrian Grand Prix Max Verstappen says he needed to go for the additional level, whereas Sergio Perez says that the ‘silly’ observe limits affected all people
He added: “Coming into the circuit this weekend it was very weird not to have him with us. You feel his presence everywhere – whether it’s the hotels you stay in or the investment he made.
“I keep in mind the delight he had in bringing this Grand Prix again to Austria and the ardour he had for racing. Whilst he is not right here in particular person, his presence you may really feel it in every single place and looking out again right here right this moment it could be one he actually loved.”
Verstappen did not see additional pit cease as a threat
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner reflected on both of his drivers’ performances this weekend after a great result from the team
Verstappen leads Sergio Perez by 81 points in the championship after picking up every point possible in Spielberg.
The Dutchman says the “automotive was on hearth” and wasn’t worried about Red Bull potentially getting the pit stop wrong.
“To me, it was not a threat however possibly the staff had been a bit extra nervous. I noticed the hole and was like, ‘we now have to pit. I need to go for the fastest lap’,” he mentioned.
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez gave Red Bull their fifth double podium of the 2023 F1 season
“From the outdoors possibly it appears to be like like an enormous threat however when in the automotive for me it did not really feel like a threat at all.”
Horner confirmed team manager Jonathan Wheatley and Verstappen’s engineer Gianpiero Lambiase were “up for it” after a discussion.
“There was a little bit of a dialogue of threat versus reward as a result of we thought let’s cool the tyres down and do it the simpler means of not taking a pit cease, during which 400 issues can go incorrect in,” Horner said. “Max was making his opinion fairly clear that the tyres had been f****d. He was fairly targeted.
“Then you start looking at your risk, do we take the risk on a below-par set of tyres? Or is it actually less risk to take the pit stop and put on a set of softs? In the end, we said ‘let’s take the risk’ and he still had three seconds margin over Charles when he came out of the pit lane.”
Next on the F1 calendar is the huge one, Silverstone. Don’t miss the British GP reside on Sky Sports from July 7-9
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