“The tires, Red Bull’s key to victory over Ferrari at Imola according to Horner”
Red Bull secured a one-two finish at Imola at Ferrari's expense, and according to the team principal, Christian Horner, this result can be partly attributed to better tire management.
The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was an opportunity for the red team to widen the gap in the standings. However, the result of this home race was far from the Italian expectations. Indeed, in addition to a collision between Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz on the first lap that forced the Spaniard to retire, a slightly too aggressive move relegated Charles Leclerc to sixth place in this Grand Prix.
On the other hand, both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez’s Red Bulls dominated this race to the point of giving the Dutchman a Grand Slam. For the team principal of the team, Christian Horner, this one-two finish is partly due to better tire management from Red Bull.
« As we saw in Melbourne, there is a tire operating window and with the setups we had in place this weekend, we got it right,” explained Horner. « We could see that Charles was struggling more with his front tires, whether it was during the sprint race or the Grand Prix. So that gave us the advantage, and I think Max Verstappen managed his race perfectly. Checo was able to build a gap with Charles and maintain it. And at no point, except for when Checo went off into the grass, did we feel too much pressure,” he explained.
At the end of this weekend, Red Bull is therefore second in the constructors’ championship, trailing Ferrari by 11 points, while Max Verstappen takes second place in the drivers’ championship behind Charles Leclerc.
