Christian Horner reveals Bottas concern ahead of "impeccable" Max Verstappen triumph

Verstappen, Hamilton, Bottas, Red Bull, Mercedes, DutchGP — Photo: © LAT Images

Dutch Grand Prix

Horner reveals Bottas concern ahead of "impeccable" Verstappen triumph

Bottas threatened to disrupt the Dutch party at Zandvoort

Ewan Gale

Sunday 5 September 2021 18:05

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed Max Verstappen for an "impeccable race" and revealed the concern the F1 team held over Valtteri Bottas' race strategy.

Verstappen dominated throughout with the help of smart calls from his team to hold the two-pronged Mercedes attack at bay and take victory in front of his home supporters at Zandvoort.

The only moment of difficulty the new championship leader faced was when the one-stopping Bottas was left out to block, but Verstappen made light work of the Finn at the end of lap 30 along the start-finish straight.

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Asked by Sky Sports F1 if he had broken a sweat, Horner replied: "Yes. A race like that is never easy.

"The most important thing was to get the start and we knew with the strategic options that Mercedes had that they were going to split and the most important part of the race for us was for Max to make that pass on Valtteri.

"He did that quickly and after that, we were able to cover Lewis. An impeccable race from him today.

"What we were more worried about was Valtteri backing him up and Lewis getting the undercut on both of them. That was why it was crucial to get past really quick."

Horner praises "fair race"

Much of the narrative ahead of the race was concern over the championship protagonists starting alongside each other for the first time since the British Grand Prix in which they collided.

With no incident this time around, Horner added: "It was a good race, it was a fair race. It is a tough competition.

"They are fighting over tenths of a second every lap and I think today, in Holland, I have never seen a reaction like that in all my career for any driver. An amazing performance."