Red Bull explain Max Verstappen late stop avoided potential repeat of Baku blowout

Verstappen, Red Bull, Austria — Photo: © LAT Images

Austrian Grand Prix

Red Bull explain Verstappen late stop avoided potential repeat of Baku blowout

Verstappen lost a win in Baku after a tyre failure

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Monday 5 July 2021 14:36 Updated: 14:43

Christian Horner has revealed Max Verstappen's late stop in the Austrian Grand Prix was made to avoid a repeat of the tyre blowout that cost the Dutchman victory in Baku.

Verstappen was leading comfortably in the Azeri capital before his left-rear tyre failed at 200mph.

The Red Bull driver dominated at Spielberg to open a 25-second lead over Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas before making a surprise pit stop in the closing stages.

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"One stops after Azerbaijan when you have got a 25-second lead with a free pit stop, why take a risk?" queried Horner.

"We could see there was a small cut, it wasn't significant but it was enough to catch your attention so the only risk was the stop itself, which the guys did phenomenally - I had it under two seconds.

"They turned the car around quickly, Max did a great job, bettered his own fastest lap and it just gave us a lower risk run to the finish so it was just a prudent thing to do I think."

Red Bull wish for more Austrian races

Verstappen's victory at the Red Bull Ring added a fifth consecutive win to the team's streak, although the two on home turf were by far the most dominant victories of the season.

"We had a great car last weekend and we tidied it up a little bit for the race," said Horner.

"He just controlled the pace of the race fantastically well. A really dominant couple of weekends for us but it has worked well at this track.

"A shame we don't have more races here because I know now we head to a circuit that has very much been a Mercedes stronghold for the last seven years."

Mercedes and Hamilton have won six of the las seven British Grands Prix, with the only anomaly in 2018 when Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel took the honours.

Verstappen, however, did win the last race at Silverstone when he took the chequered flag in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix a week after the British event last year.