Austrian GP 2022: Christian Horner cautious of Ferrari’s “different approach”
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Christian Horner
Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner is mindful of Ferrari’s “different approach” to tyre wear at the Austrian Grand Prix and isn’t taking anything lightly. According to indications, reigning Formula One World Champion Max Verstappen appears to be the popular pick for a triumph that would increase his 38-point advantage in the World Championship.
The two Ferraris attempted to attack the Dutchman initially in the sprint, but they were able to settle their differences and let the Red Bull driver cruise home unopposed. The Dutchman began from pole position for the sprint. Verstappen was creeping on Charles Leclerc toward the completion of the 23 laps, and by the finish line, Leclerc had cut the gap to 1.675 seconds, with Carlos Sainz a further four seconds behind in P3.
Red Bull’s Mexican driver Sergio Perez overcame a nine-place grid penalty for breaking track rules during qualifying by moving up from 13th to start the race in fifth, right behind George Russell’s Mercedes W13.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOXh31gfmJs
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Christian Horner gives his take on Max Verstappen’s performance during this race weekend
Verstappen’s car was damaged during the British Grand Prix after he ran over some debris, preventing Red Bull from winning for the seventh time in a row. Horner will be worried about the danger posed by the Maranello-based racing team if their method of controlling tyres becomes effective.
“A very controlled drive by Max, happy with that, and a great recovery by Checo – almost back into the position he had qualified. Overall, a pretty decent sprint race. I think actually Ferrari didn’t push their tyres as hard at the beginning of the stint and they were marginally quicker at the end. I think we wanted to break the DRS quickly and Max broke that one second [gap] very hard on the first and second flying lap. So it’s just a different approach,” said the Red Bull Racing team boss.
When asked if Verstappen still had some speed left towards the finish as Leclerc reduced his lead, Horner responded: “Yeah, he was managing. Obviously it’s a reasonably long stint on those [soft] tyres. And what you take out at the beginning, you lose at the end.” With three victories in the Austrian Grand Prix itself and another at the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix, which was introduced to the F1 calendar due to the pandemic, Verstappen is by far the most accomplished F1 driver in Austrian history.
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Rishika Saha
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