"Dangerous" Hamilton tyres led to "inevitable" Mercedes pit stop - Horner
"Dangerous" Hamilton tyres led to "inevitable" Mercedes pit stop - Horner
Christian Horner believes Mercedes was forced into an "inevitable" pit stop for Lewis Hamilton due to the "dangerous" nature of his tyres during the Turkish Grand Prix.
After extending his stint for 50 laps on balding intermediate rubber, Hamilton pitted for a new set of the same compound with eight laps remaining and was unable to mount a challenge on Sergio Perez or Charles Leclerc for an unlikely podium.
The British driver was frustrated with the late call to pit and asked by Sky Sports F1 for his views on the Mercedes' strategy, Horner said: "I am not on their pit wall so obviously difficult to comment but it sounded like Lewis overruled the team.
"At one point you think he is going to get to the end and from what we could see, those tyres were looking dangerous so it was inevitable he was going to have to pit.
"At the point that they pitted, that was to our maximum advantage because at that point you could see Charles as well, the tyres overheated and blistered quite badly and then the pace was lost.
"For us, the crucial moment was for when to pit Checo. We could have left him out to keep holding Lewis, [but] we decided to pit him to make sure we had track position because we didn't believe that those tyres would make it to the end of the race."
Perez reached the podium for the first time since the French Grand Prix and at one stage came out on top in a wheel-to-wheel battle with Hamilton after a breathtaking sequence of corners.
"He raced Lewis just as hard as Max does," claimed Horner. "He actually ended up in the pit lane, Lewis has run him out there.
"Then it is a drag race down the start-finish straight and he stuck with it and made it stick. A great move by him."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Red Bull to lose F1 MVP as true cost of Horner saga hits
- 27 minutes ago
F1 pundit reveals the thing about Wolff that ANNOYS Horner
- 1 hour ago
Newey exit DATE revealed as Red Bull F1 chief set to leave
- 1 hour ago
F1 News Today: Red Bull star set to QUIT team as F1 legend reveals flood of death threats
- 3 hours ago
Audi agree STAR driver contract as Mercedes driver tipped for new F1 seat THIS season - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Ferrari show off new-look drivers following HUGE announcement
- Yesterday 22:57
Related news
Hamilton 'giving no energy' to Mercedes engine troubles
Perez podium a "great shot of confidence" for Red Bull title tussle - Horner
Alpine adamant no safety risk with Ocon strategy gamble
Hamilton cautious of drivers 'not fighting for the same prize'
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860