Christian Horner feels Max Verstappen ‘extending lead in the driver’s championship’ was the ‘optimum’ result at Belgian GP
Max Verstappen has lost out quite a few races wins during the ongoing campaign.
Follow Us
Christian Horner and Max Verstappen (Via: Imago)
With the culmination of last week’s Belgian GP, the 2024 season is 14 rounds down and has only got 10 more remaining on the F1 calendar. Max Verstappen is leading the driver’s championship by 78 points and Christian Horner feels the former’s P4 finish at Spa-Francorchamps was the ‘optimum’ Red Bull could have hoped for.
Sergio Perez despite starting the Belgian GP from the front row, slipped backward during the 44-lap race and was thus, only able to manage an eighth-place finish. Most of the heavy lifting at the event was done by Max Verstappen as he charged his way from P11 to P4 (courtesy of George Russell’s DSQ).
Keeping all this in view, Horner feels Red Bull got the maximum out of the Spa-Francorchamps event.
Going from 11th to fifth, finishing ahead of his nearest championship rival who started fourth, and only seven seconds from the leader. In what is now a very tight grid, I thought that was the optimum, extending his lead in the driver's.Christian Horner via Pitdebrief
Looking at the reaction of the Brit, it is quite clear that he and Red Bull are somewhat content with amassing 12 points from the Belgian weekend. Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, and Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton were the drivers who finished ahead of Verstappen.
Max Verstappen ‘would’ve won’ had he started Belgian GP from pole
While Horner has admitted that Red Bull maximized its Belgian GP weekend, he further feels Verstappen could’ve won the race, had he started from first place. The 26-year-old secured pole position during qualifying but was bumped to P11 because of a 10-place grid penalty.
We were always in dirty air, dirty air, dirty air. If we’d have started on the pole, potentially you could have won it. But we’ve got that engine penalty in the bag now, which puts us in a better place after the break.Christian Horner via the same interview
As mentioned earlier, the 2024 F1 season is 14 rounds down and has only 10 races remaining. From Zandvoort onwards, all the events will hold tremendous significance for the top four teams as they all have a chance at the world championship.
The completion has been cut-throat between the top outfits and it is expected to continue during the second half. From Red Bull’s perspective, it will be all about scoring solid points consistently with both its challengers.
In case you missed it:
- Ruthless Red Bull driver program now a shadow of itself
- Helmut Marko breaks silence on Red Bull’s decision to retain Sergio Perez
Stay Updated!
Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)