Horner says chaotic Brazilian GP could not stop "outstanding" Verstappen
Red Bull Content Pool
F1 News
Christian Horner said despite all the stops and starts of the Brazilian Grand Prix, nothing could stop the "outstanding" Max Verstappen. The Dutchman was able to take a stunning win at Interlagos, winning from P17 on the grid to all but seal a fourth world championship with three races remaining in 2024.
After a red flag meant that Verstappen could not get out of Q2, he was resigned to start right near the back of the grid, while championship rival Lando Norris started in pole position, looking likely to close the gap in the title battle. However, in the pouring Sao Paulo rain, only the Red Bull Racing driver had everything under control, taking all the stops and starts of the Grand Prix in his stride to win by 13 seconds, thanks to the great work of his team on the pit wall.
There were lots of safety cars that came out due to crashes at Interlagos in the treacherous conditions, and during one VSC stoppage, George Russell, who took the lead from Norris at the start, and Norris himself came into the pits to change tyres. However, Red Bull kept Verstappen out and overtook Norris, waiting for a safety car or even a red flag to give them a free pit stop.
They got the latter as a result of Franco Colapinto's huge crash into the barrier on the start/finish straight, meaning Verstappen, along with the two Alpine of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly who joined him on the podium, got their strategy spot on and took control of the race. Once it restarted, Verstappen continued with his dominance, clearing Ocon in front to take the lead and win by over 13 seconds.
Horner debriefs on Red Bull's perfect calls
Speaking after the Grand Prix, team boss Horner notes how important those calls were that led to Verstappen's win: "We could see the weather was getting horrendous. His tyres were in good shape though, and so a new set of inters versus what he had was negligible. So we took the decision, let's go long. Our bad luck this morning was fortune this afternoon when the race got red-flagged, and then it effectively gets neutralised."
But Horner continued on to heap huge praise on Verstappen for taking control of the race and earning one of the finest wins of his career so far: "Thereafter, the race got running, I think, too soon, but he [Verstappen] took it easy. Ocon pulled out a lead, he was just starting to close that down, and then another safety car. Then his restart, his braking manoeuvre into turn one was outstanding."
This article was created in collaboration with Nicole Mulder
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