Christian Horner: “The stewards made the right decision”

Christian Horner can only be satisfied at the arrival of this Austrian Grand Prix, which is already one of the highlights of the 2019 World Championship season. F1.

The Spielberg event has awakened a discipline somewhat under anesthesia in recent weeks, with sometimes boring races, thanks to a scenario mixing fights on the track, twists and turns, and finally a favorable outcome for the clan. Red Bull.

Because if Max Verstappen had won under the checkered flag, the Dutchman had completed his rise in the peloton, after a bad start from the first row, by overtaking in a muscular manner Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

A maneuver placed under investigation, which will give birth after several hours of waiting maintaining the ranking seen on the track, Verstappen winning ahead of Leclerc. “The wait after the race was tense but the stewards made the right decision, proclaims the Team Principal of Red Bull Racing.

What happened between Charles and Max today was real racing and I think that's what Formula 1 is: two young drivers engaging.

Formula 1 has come under a lot of criticism recently and I think today's race was exciting, with overtaking, tire degradation and drama – just what the doctor ordered! »

With this victory now validated, Red Bull and Max Verstappen allow Honda to return to the clan of winners in F1, the Japanese engine manufacturer having not won since 2006. A long drought that the start of the hybrid era seemed to want to prolong on several years, but that the new alliance with Red Bull broke this Sunday.

“To win the race here in Austria and give Honda its first victory with a V6 hybrid is incredible, continues Horner. Winning our home race means a lot to everyone in the Red Bull family.

Mr. Mateschitz has invested so much in this sport with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso. It means a lot to win this for the second year in a row. We arrived in Austria as underdogs and winning is a dream come true and I think it was Max's best victory. »

Discover the full report and analysis of the Austrian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Spielberg, in issue 2223 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.