Red Bull guesses wrong: "In hindsight, we should have started on the mediums"
F1 News
Red Bull Racing gambled on Saturday by letting Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon drive the red tire in Q2. It did not work out quite well, although Verstappen still managed to ride to third place during the Grand Prix of Portugal.
With little information and changing weather conditions, it was a gamble on Saturday. Mercedes chose the medium tire, but Red Bull Racing opted for the soft tire. The start was therefore very difficult for Verstappen and Albon, but Christian Horner thinks that it would not have mattered much in the end.
Red Bull is gambling wrong
"The tyres were a bit of a black art today. The soft tyre was difficult to get going and the medium turned out to be the best. In hindsight, we should perhaps have started on the mediums. Even so, the softs were difficult at the start compared to the medium. Max hung on, but Albon lost some ground," Horner said in an online press event from Red Bull.
However, the soft tyre turned out not to be ideal and so Verstappen saw the gap to the Mercedes drivers increasing. "Max was able to keep his place and set a better pace after the pit stop. By then the Mercedes had already disappeared. P3 was the optimum for Verstappen but it was another difficult afternoon for Alex," concludes the Brit, who also says that the team had not found any damage at Verstappen after his collision with Perez.