"Surprised they didn't pre-empt": Red Bull boss questions McLaren's strategy in the F1 Canadian GP

Red Bull chief Christian Horner was surprised how McLaren let Lando Norris stay out in the rain during the 2024 Canadian GP. Speaking to onsite media in Montreal after the race, Horner claimed that switching to the dry tires at the right time was crucial to winning the race.

McLaren made two critical errors in the race with their strategy. Initially, they pit Norris a lap later than Max Verstappen and George Russell to pit for intermediates, after Logan Sargeant’s crash at lap 25. Their second error was the one that gave Red Bull a significant advantage, where they kept the Brit out for another lap before switching him to the dry compound tires.

Horner was surprised that the Woking squad did not anticipate the first safety car and rain, as the weather radar gave clear indications for showers. He suggested that even if Norris had come in early, they were going to pit Verstappen as his tires were past their prime performance window. He thought Verstappen's engineer Gianpiero Lambiase's radio comment suggesting the lead change was payback for Miami came 40 laps too early.

In Miami, a similar safety car positioned Norris well to grab the win. Horner suggested that the second pitstop, to change from intermediates to dry, was key to gaining an advantage over McLaren. After McLaren's second pitstop, Horner felt they were well-positioned to win the race.

Asked if Red Bull would have kept Verstappen out or responded differently if Norris pitted early, the Horner said:

"No we would have come in, cause the tires were toast. We knew the rain was coming, all the information said that the rain was coming. So surprised that they didn’t pre-empt to be honest, as it looked like it was going to be a safety car."

"But it is kind of payback, and I think GP (Gianpiero Lambiase) made that comment, which I felt was 40 laps too soon.That it was effectively sometimes the way how safety cars go and it was pay back for Miami," he added.

Explaining the advantage they gained with Lando Norris staying out, the Red Bull CEO said:

"It looked like the Mercedes was more in trouble struggling to get past and that gave Lando a free pass. And at that point, it looked like McLaren were the favourites. They’d just walk away and win the race. Then obviously pitstops came and we went on to another new set of inters. There was a safety car, the first one, that neutralized everything and the adjustments we made. We were then able to get ourselves into a better position."

"Obviously Lando stayed out at that point so he had a brief phase in first. And the car, I thought, we were in a much better window as the circuit dried out. We were able to hold a consistent gap and then it was all about being able to get that cross over at the right time," he added.

Horner continued:

"Because the first sector was pretty damp, when you drive out of the pitlane you obviously lose a huge amount of temperature. So, I felt like we timed that about right, going onto the medium tyre."

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Red Bull chief discusses crucial point where McLaren lost their advantage

Red Bull Racing CEO Christian Horner felt as the circuit dried up, they were in a better position to be competitive. He reckoned that despite Norris capitalizing on a lead by staying out, the timing of the switch to the dry tires was key to clinching the win.

The 50-year-old was surprised that McLaren didn’t cover the British driver for the second pitstop and left him out for two laps more than Verstappen. He felt that opened the window for the Dutchman to have the tires in the perfect window to pull out a gap by the time his McLaren counterpart rejoined the track.

Discussing the crucial phase when McLaren lost their advantage to Red Bull, Horner told the media:

"While Lando was able to capitalize enough to hit the 20-second mark, and it hovered around that for a lap. Obviously, with each lap we did, the tyres were getting warmer and I was surprised they didn't cover after one lap."

"They left him for two and that was crucial cause it gave Max another lap to generate the temperature. So when Lando did pit, he [Verstappen] had tyres that were in a window and was able to drive and pull out a three-second gap by sector one. So that timing was crucial," he added.

Horner continued:

"And then obviously there was quite a fight going on behind us and then the safety car with few laps to go, there was then a straight fight with Lando, who had two lap better tires than us. George had taken the opportunity to pit, Lewis had taken the opportunity to pit cause they essentially only conceded one place."

"And we had good enough pace to pull away and pull out a three second gap. As the circuit dried out, we had good pace, good degradation. It was a fantastic race for Max," he concluded.

It was not Red Bull Racing’s most ideal weekend, as both their drivers were struggling to get the car to work around the Montreal circuit. While Verstappen won the race, Norris eventually finished second. However, the triple champion was able to pull out a lead in the Drivers' Standings, where he currently leads Charles Leclerc by 56 points and the McLaren driver by 61 points.

In the Constructors' Standings, Red Bull Racing are 49 points ahead of Ferrari and 89 points ahead of McLaren. The Maranello drivers retiring from the race did give the reigning champions an advantage.