Horner jokes about Mercedes strategy: 'They were in no man's land'

Max Verstappen won the United States Grand Prix, but it wasn't easy for the Dutchman. Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner looks back at the race and the problems Verstappen faced.

Verstappen started the Grand Prix from the third row of the grid after a poorer qualifying session on Friday. The Dutchman got through the first lap well and even gained a place over the poorly-started George Russell. Slowly but surely, Verstappen climbed up to third place, where a duel began with Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.

Horner on Verstappen's problems

"Before the race, all our simulations were telling us that the two-stop was the fastest race for us. So that's what we committed to. The debate was do we run the hard [tyres] in the middle stint or the medium [tyres]. And we knew going up against Lando that they committed to the two hards, so we felt go medium, medium," Horner told Sky Sports.

"It was crucial for Max to make use of that and get the pass start, get the track position, and then run our fastest race to the end of the race. I think Mercedes, they just found themselves in no man's land today. They sort of attempted a one aborted and obviously then took the better tyre, the medium tyre, for the final stint. But thankfully, we had just enough to hold them off."

The excitement increased partly due to Verstappen's problems. The Dutchman complained bitterly over the team radio that his brakes were not working properly. The brakes had just been replaced from Saturday to Sunday, but the new brakes were not to Verstappen's liking.

"He was managing a brake issue throughout the race. You could hear he wasn't happy about the brakes. When you've got that issue, you're building in a bit of a margin. I think all his focus was on that. He knew very well what the gap was and he was managing that," the Brit concluded.