Red Bull Formula 1 boss Christian Horner has run through the rationale behind the late pit stop which contributed to Max Verstappen’s Spanish Grand Prix unravelling.
Verstappen capitalised on a sluggish Lando Norris start to split the McLaren drivers at the start, but his hold on second lasted 12 laps as the Briton soon surged past.
Red Bull decided to box Verstappen once he had lost track position and, with McLaren not launching an immediate response, his undercut propelled him into the lead.
Verstappen maintained his advantage until he pitted a second time on Lap 30, all but guaranteeing that he would be conducting one more stop than the McLaren duo.
But while Verstappen got within DRS range on Norris when he exited the pits a second time on Lap 48, the Dutchman was unable to maintain pace with the McLarens.
Horner has explained how the team chose to convert to a three-stop strategy earlier in the race once it became evident that McLaren had the advantage over Red Bull.
“Obviously, the way that the race was panning out, we elected to take a three-stop,” Horner acknowledged to media including Motorsport Week in Barcelona.
“We committed to it pretty early on because we saw that the pace advantage and the tyre advantage that McLaren had on a straight fight wouldn’t be possible.
“And so we committed on Lap 12, I think it was, to the first stop and then Lap 28, 29. And at that point, McLaren were committed to a two-stop.
“They didn’t cover us and we were committed on to a three-stop, which actually was playing out as the quicker strategy of the two.
“There was a chance, the problem was our tyre life wasn’t strong enough and that middle stint of McLaren was particularly strong.
“The only chance we had was a potential undercut that we gave a go with Max on that last set of tyres, on to his last set of Softs.
“So he’d used all his Softs and Mediums and then McLaren covered us with both Norris and Piastri.”
Why Red Bull put Verstappen on the Hard tyre
Red Bull’s strategic gamble compromised Verstappen when a Safety Car was triggered with 11 laps to run as the extra pitstop meant he had to resort to the Hard tyre.
That made the reigning F1 champion vulnerable once racing resumed on Lap 61, culminating in the collision with George Russell that landed him a 10-second penalty.
Horner conceded that Red Bull thought that the white-walled compound would be a better option to get to the end over the eight-lap worn Softs on Verstappen’s RB21.
“Then the Safety Car came out on [Lap] 54, which was probably the worst possible time in terms of our strategy,” he continued.
“Because you’re faced with then the choice of do you stay out on an eight-lap-old, heavily pushed Soft tyre, at which point you would get eaten up at the restart.
“It looked like there would be circa 10 racing laps left. Unfortunately, the only set of tyres that we had available, having gone on to that three-stop strategy, was a new set of Hards.
“And so our feeling was that a new set of Hards was better than an eight-lap-old, heavily degraded set of Softs. So that’s what we did. We took the stop.
“Up until that point, I felt that we’d done everything right. The pit stops had been strong, the strategy had been right.
“Unfortunately, Safety Car at that point comes out. You don’t want to stay on that set of tyres because you know everybody else is taking a fresh set.
“The only thing that we’ve got left is a new set of Hards that you’ve got no real knowledge of.”
Asked whether in hindsight Red Bull should have kept Verstappen out and inherited the lead, Horner answered: “20/20 hindsight, you’d have left him out.
“He would have got passed by the two McLarens. Would he have got passed by [Charles] Leclerc? It’s all subjective. You never know.
“You make the decision with the information you have to hand.
“As I say, the risk we’re going onto the three-stop is that in a Safety Car scenario, in the last third of the race or quarter of the race, you’re exposed.
“You’re faced with the choice of a brand new set versus an eight-lap old set that have taken a bit of a pounding.
“With 20-20 hindsight, it’s very easy to say, stay out. Would he have finished third, fourth? Who knows? But you can only go with the information you have to hand.”
READ MORE – Why Red Bull told Max Verstappen to cede place to George Russell in Spain
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