Horner: 'Let's not forget that Hamilton got away with his mistake very lightly'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Lewis Hamilton is currently leading the championship, but if track limits were enforced differently it could have been different. It's a point of frustration for Red Bull Racing, who have already lost a fair amount in the first three race weekends thanks to the rule.
Red Bull hit hard by track limits
It was probably the biggest blow to Red Bull that they had to hand first place back to Lewis Hamilton after Max Verstappen overtook him in the closing stages of the race. But it wasn't the last time Red Bull had to deal with it. In Portugal, Verstappen set the fastest time in qualifying but lost it for exceeding track limits. He also lost the fastest lap of the race and the accompanying extra point.
As a result, Red Bull now have to make up a deficit to Mercedes, when they could potentially have led the championship. "We have to be perfect, but the cars have strengths and weaknesses, " Horner tells Formula1.com when asked if there were any mistakes the team could not afford to make.
Barcelona should give clear picture of proportions
"Let's not forget that Lewis dropped the ball in a pretty big way in Imola, and he got away with it lightly," Horner continued. "Mistakes are inevitable when you're pushing to the limit and it's about such small margins. The whole discussion around track limits is frustrating; for us, it has been pretty brutal as it has cost us victory in Bahrain, and the pole and fastest lap in Portugal."
The Red Bull team principal added that Barcelona will offer a clearer picture about the ratio between the teams. "Red Bull and Mercedes stand out among the teams, and Lewis and Max stand out among the drivers. If the conditions in Barcelona are normal we will get a good idea of where our strengths and weaknesses lie. But as far as I can see it's incredibly close", Horner concludes.