Max Verstappen Miami GP win was inevitable, claims Christian Horner amidst Sergio Perez sabotage speculations

Christian Horner insists that Max Verstappen had the pace to win the Miami GP irrespective of the tire strategy.

Max Verstappen Miami GP win was inevitable, claims Christian Horner amidst Sergio Perez sabotage speculations

Max Verstappen, Christian Horner, and Sergio Perez

Max Verstappen won his third race of the 2023 F1 season at the Miami GP. The reigning world champion started P9 after not getting a lap in Q3. Yet, Verstappen defeated teammate Sergio Perez for the race win as the 25-year-old capitalized on the hard tires at the start. However, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner is confident that the tire choice did not play a role in Max’s victory.

Horner went as far as stating how the data had suggested that Verstappen should start on the medium tires to have the fastest strategy. He said, “You can see that the data was coming up with the same answers, and the highest probable points score was actually for Max to start on the Mediums.” Yet, the Dutchman proved the statistics wrong as the 25-year-old was in a league in Miami.

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Moreover, the Red Bull team boss was convinced that the tire compounds simply didn’t matter to Max. As the 49-year-old believed that Verstappen had enough pace to come home in P1 no matter which tire he started the race with. Christian Horner explained, “To be honest with you today, I think with the pace he had, it wouldn’t have mattered if he just started on the on the Soft, the Medium or the Hard tire.”

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Christian Horner lauds Max Verstappen for an ‘outstanding’ weekend

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Perez and Verstappen after the race

Christian admitted that the Miami GP was a rather interesting race for Red Bull. The 49-year-old highlighted Max Verstappen’s tire management in the early part of the race. The Briton even acknowledged the stunning performances by the two-time world champion throughout the weekend. He concluded, “It made it an interesting race, because he had to manage that tire early on, but his pace, as it has been all weekend, has just been outstanding.”

Many believed that Sergio Perez lost out on the race win in Miami as Verstappen had a rather favorable race strategy, so much so that some called it a deliberate sabotage by Red Bull to help out the two-time world champion. But now, Horner has ruled out such a scenario as the 49-year-old insists that Max simply was the faster driver on race day.

Thus, Christian Horner has dismissed any preferential treatment in race strategy to Max Verstappen in Miami. The 49-year-old was confident that the Dutchman had some incredible pace on race day and would have won regardless of the tire compounds. Certainly, Verstappen put in some outstanding lap times during the race as he got the team’s fourth 1-2 of the season.

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