Horner reveals reason behind Verstappen's bad pit stop

It took a lot of variables for Max Verstappen to pit next to Lewis Hamilton at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. The result is etched on the eyes of every Formula 1 viewer in the world.

Revision pit stop rules

For example, a very weak pit stop by Red Bull Racing's usually flawless team and a poor stop by Mercedes was to blame for the two drivers to end up next to other on the track. In his column on Redbull.com Christian Horner outlines the reasons for the poor pit stop.

"There was a rare human error in our pit stop, as a result of the new technical guidelines, but nevertheless something we have to learn from," Horner assessed. According to the revised technical guideline, 0.2 seconds must elapse between the final signal and the green light for drivers to leave the pit box. With the pit stop record currently held by Red Bull Racing at 1.82 seconds, we will see pit stops under 2 seconds less frequently.

Neck to neck

Horner conceded that the poor pit stop was the start of a series of coincidences that ultimately led to a crash: "The slow stop meant that Max was no longer on the track where he should have been. Mercedes made the situation worse by faltering with their own stop on Hamilton's car, leaving both drivers neck and neck."