Why Red Bull didn't go for fastest lap in Austin: 'Points Perez were better'

Sergio Perez finished third at the United States Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton eventually ran off with the fastest lap of the race, giving him an extra point in the battle for the title. Team boss Christian Horner explains why Perez did not come in for a new set of tyres to take the fastest lap away from the Briton.

All season long Mercedes and Red Bull have been trying to take the fastest race lap from their rivals. This is often done by using their second drivers. In Silverstone Red Bull brought Perez in, while the Mexican was in P10 and could have finished higher.

According to Horner, it would have gone too far to remove Perez from the podium in America by a pit stop for fresh tires. The Mexican did not have the space to make a free pit stop in the race, as Charles Leclerc's Ferrari was too close to Perez's Red Bull.

"It would have been brutal to pit Checo and take him off the podium. Leclerc was obviously too close behind. In the collective position of the team, it was better for Checo to take the points. So that's what we did," Horner tells Motorsport.com.

Perez struggled with problems with his water bottle throughout the race, making it a tough race for him physically. According to Red Bull, it would therefore be a little too much to ask of him to give up his podium to take one point away from Hamilton.