Christian Horner surprised by Ferrari and Mercedes tactics at Silverstone

Despite the victory of Carlos Sainz at Silverstone, we can legitimately estimate that Red Bull and Christian Horner emerge as big winners from this race weekend against Ferrari et Mercedes. Despite the setbacks of a Verstappen which will end up limiting the damage (seventh), and with Pérez forced to start last at the end of the second start, the Austrian firm has lost almost nothing in the battle. Basically, however, this Grand Prix seemed acquired by the Reds, whose double seemed both inevitable and fragile, as the Italian team has accumulated bad decisions in recent weeks. But that was before a safety car once again dashed all of their hopes.

Leclerc sacrificed, could Hamilton do better?

It is undoubtedly the choice which raises the most questions at the end of a spectacular and eventful Grand Prix. Why didn't Ferrari attempt a double pit stop, while the safety car was entering the track? If Sainz rushed into the pitelane, well followed by a Hamilton on the lookout, Charles Leclerc, leader at that time, was forced to stay on the track. A decision that would lead to his downfall a few laps later.

“The decision I understood the least was not to bring their two cars, or at least Charles [Leclerc] for soft tires », analyzed Christian Horner in front of the media at Silverstone. In front of the advantage of tires that Carlos [Sainz] had at that time with soft and new tires, Charles had hard tires and 13 laps old. The delta is huge.

But I think he did very well, Charles, to hold Checo [Perez] and Lewis [Hamilton] as long as he did. »

However, the Red Bull boss understands the fear that may have entered Ferrari's heads when making such a decision. The Briton suffered enough pressure from Mercedes last year when Verstappen was in the lead, not to give it up at the slightest incident in the race.

“It’s the hardest thing in the world: getting into the pits from the front, » believes the Briton.

That being said, Horner also didn't understand Mercedes' tactics with Hamilton during the Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion, whose tire management was remarkable, seemed able to worry the Ferraris in the first part of the race, before his team asked him to return to the pits to put on hard tires.

“I was surprised that Lewis, with this number of laps to go and the degradation he showed here, did not take the soft tires. He switched to hard tires on lap 33. In fact, I thought he was going to switch to the softs because it would have been much easier for him to make a difference with the grip.

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I had the impression that perhaps they had been let down on this point,” believes Horner, always present when it comes to judging Mercedes' work and performance.

But ultimately, with a more rested head after an eventful Grand Prix full of twists and turns, Christian Horner's remarks about Ferrari and Mercedes do not seem as absurd as one might imagine.

The Scuderia completely jeopardized its chances of achieving the double this Sunday. Worse, the Italian team seemed to sacrifice the championship, for which Charles Leclerc is still fighting, to the detriment of the first victory in F1 by Carlos Sainz. As for the Silver Arrows, this third place could have a bitter taste given the pace displayed by Hamilton in the race. The return of Pérez in the battle for the podium is certainly not unrelated. And in all this slump, it's all good for Red Bull.

A three-way battle for the podium positions 🥊

Lewis, Checo and Charles really left it all out on the track! 👊#BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/t6NbI8x6xq

- Formula 1 (@ F1) July 4, 2022