Christian Horner believes Max Verstappen is at the top of his game this season and is doing a spectacular job with his performance in the 2022 F1 Canadian GP. The Red Bull team principal was elated with his team leading both championships ahead of the next round at Silverstone.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Horner said:
“We’ve just got to take each race at time. We’ve put a great run together and it is great to be heading to Silverstone leading both championships. Max [Verstappen] is in the form of his life and doing a great job.”
Max Verstappen commanded the race, clinching victory from pole position, which Horner believes is because the Dutchman is in top form. The Briton also felt they needed to take one weekend at a time going forward.
Describing the tense moments in the race, Horner said:
“It was not very comfortable at all, the last 10 laps or so after that VSC because Max just couldn’t break the DRS, and Ferrari were very quick on the straight line today and they could attack the kerbs to stay close. But not a single mistake. We lost communication with the car or it was only one-way traffic. He could hear us and we couldn’t hear him but I guess he didn’t need to hear us too much.”
Christian Horner credits Carlos Sainz for putting pressure on Max Verstappen in the closing stages of the race
Christian Horner praised Carlos Sainz for putting pressure on Max Verstappen in the final ten laps of the race. The Spaniard was within a second of the Dutchman until the finish line. The Red Bull chief revealed that Ferrari were very quick in straight-line speed and their second pitstop played into Sainz's hands towards the end.
Speaking about their strategy and Ferrari’s performance, Horner said:
“All credit to Carlos [Sainz] today, he pushed him really really hard. The strategy wasn’t clear because we went for an early stop with the first VSC. We felt that was the best route to the end of the race and obviously the next VSC came. Carlos got a free stop effectively as well. And it obviously both set it up beautifully for the end of the race. It was super tight.”
After the 2022 F1 Canadian GP, Red Bull leads Ferrari by 79 points in the constructors’ standings while Max Verstappen is 49 points ahead of Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ standings.