Horner happy to have played spoilsport in China

It is rare enough to be highlighted, Christian Horner didn't slip a small tackle during the Chinese Grand Prix Formula 1. The main team of Red Bull praised the strategy which enabled Max Verstappen to get into the middle of the Ferraris in fourth place.

“We triggered the second shutdown on everyone, certifies the Briton. Quite early on, we decided that we had a better chance by making two stops, especially if there had been a Safety Car and some would have chosen to stay on just one stop.

As a team we did a good job today We had the right strategy and maximized the result with P4 #KeepPushing #ChineseGP #Race1000 pic.twitter.com/uHIiupeuXj

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) April 14th

I don't think we had a better car than Ferrari Today. The best chance we had of getting ahead of at least one would have been to make two stops. Looks like it started a debate between Sebastian and his pit wall but they ultimately decided to cover our stop, and Mercedes did the same with them. Leclerc found himself a bit like laundry drying in the sun without being able to do much.", he analyzes in reference to the curious tactic applied to the Monegasque.

According to Christian Horner, “Fourth place was the best possible result (for Max Verstappen). We have clearly progressed compared to Bahrain. We were much more competitive when we look at the curves and the data, especially in sector 1 and 2. We still have work to do in sector 3 but we have improvements coming in this area. »

French Pierre Gasly also gave satisfaction, with the point for the best lap in the race and a sixth position. “He took a step forward. He is not yet completely confident with the car. He is in the process of refining his driving style to optimize the characteristics of the car and extract its quintessence., continues Christian Horner.

Double dots in #Race1000 As the Bulls come back in P4 and P6 https://t.co/KTvfW5At1v #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/EmPVnfo78x

— Aston Martin Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) April 14th

Il has a challenge on his hands but he is making progress. By sending him to chase the fastest lap in the race, we also gave him a little confidence. » Finally, the arrival of the Honda unit, far from causing repeated breakages, allows Red Bull to get closer to the leading Mercedes and Ferrari.

“This season we want to close the gap with the Mercedes and the Ferraris and we are doing it. We inserted ourselves between the two Ferraris in Shanghai. We are closer to Mercedes in terms of pace. The Bahrain test was very productive, it allowed us to identify the weaknesses encountered during the Grand Prix there but there is still progress to be made. »

Find the analysis of the Chinese GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2211 of AUTOhebdo, available Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands.