Red Bull boss Christian Horner has revealed what helped the team unlock big performance gains, which saw Max Verstappen cruise to victory at the Formula 1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
After a tricky start to the campaign, in which McLaren has soared ahead in both championships, the team brought aerodynamic upgrades which saw significant improvements from the much-maligned RB21.
In doing so, Verstappen was able to dominate proceedings and take his second win of the season, on the occasion of the Milton Keynes-based squad’s 400th Grand Prix.
Speaking to media including Motorsport Week after the race, Horner explained in further detail the benefit of the upgrades and how they helped improve the team’s tyre management issues.
“I think, definitely, we’ve managed to put some performance on the car and to get the car into a better window,” he said.
“As soon as you take away the sliding, you’re able to manage the temperature a lot better. That was really encouraging.
“I think the first stint was really encouraging because we could see that he was managing more than the guys behind, so he was driving very smartly and still pulling out a gap.
“That’s always a happy place to be in. So you get the longevity. It’s the first time in quite a while that we’ve been in that position.
“So then the next stint was really about bringing the tyre in gently and not thrashing it.
“Likewise, the final stint was a straight, 10-lap race to the end and he was able to really get the hammer down.
“So, at all points, the management, the pace, and the deg were very good today.”
Imola ‘first time in a long time’ Red Bull outperformed McLaren
Horner was amazed by how Red Bull was able to provide such a clear advantage at Imola, given McLaren’s performance margin that has spanned since last season.
After Verstappen opportunistically pinched the lead of Oscar Piastri at Tamburello at the start of the race, the Dutchman comfortably controlled proceedings.
And despite a late Safety Car potentially bringing the McLarens back into the race, Verstappen quickly pulled out a gap once it came in, and continued to dominate to the chequered flag.
“On Friday, the McLarens again looked very, very fast on the long runs,” he said, “but, to have the pace that we did in the race, I would say it’s probably since Brazil last year, which was obviously a wet race, is the first I can remember in a long time we’ve had the pace to really pull away and out-deg the McLaren,” he said.
“So that’s very encouraging, and a great result for the effort that’s gone in behind the scenes.”
READ MORE – How Red Bull sprung a ‘little surprise’ on McLaren in F1 Imola GP
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