Red Bull target Ferrari in constructors' championship!
F1 News
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has targeted Ferrari in the constructors' championship, as the team took its first victory of the season thanks to a sensational Max Verstappen drive.
Verstappen started the race in second and dropped as far down as eighth after a poor start, but the Dutchman showed tremendous character and talent to fight back on his second stint, as he started picking off drivers one by one.
He eventually overtook Charles Leclerc for the lead and made it two wins in two years in Austria, Red Bull's home venue. Needless to say, Horner was thrilled with the result.
“What an unbelievable performance by Max today," the Brit said.
"To win the race here in Austria and to give Honda its first victory with a V6 hybrid is unbelievable. Winning our home race means an enormous amount to everyone in the Red Bull family."
The main discussion of the race was that race-winning overtake from Verstappen on Leclerc, as there was contact between the two drivers as the SF90 and the RB15 banged wheels, with Leclerc going off-track. After three hours of deliberating the subject, the stewards opted not to give Verstappen a penalty, meaning his win remained intact.
"It was a tense wait after the race but the stewards made the right decision. What happened today between Charles and Max is hard racing and I think that’s what Formula One is all about – it’s two young guys going for it. Formula One has come under a lot of criticism recently and I think today’s race was an exciting one with overtaking, tyre degradation and drama – exactly what the doctor ordered!"
The other Red Bull of Pierre Gasly did not do as well, with the Frenchman finishing in seventh as he got lapped in the closing stages by his teammate. Horner did say he will want Gasly to perform better, as he has the ambition to challenge Ferrari in the championship.
"It was a tough race for Pierre but he managed to make progress and pass Raikkonen. When your teammate is performing at this level the benchmark is extremely high, but with time and as his confidence builds, Pierre will close the gap.
"Our target in the constructors’ championship is Ferrari and we need both cars to score the maximum points possible.”