Horner feared Hamilton's "advantage" would cost Verstappen US victory
Horner feared Hamilton's "advantage" would cost Verstappen US victory
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed even he had doubts Max Verstappen could make the team's aggressive strategy work to win the United States Grand Prix.
The tyre delta was created by Red Bull opting to pit Verstappen early during both pit windows after Hamilton initially got the jump on the Dutchman off the front row.
Hamilton cut a gap of over eight seconds down to just one by the chequered flag with Verstappen nursing eight-lap older tyres and Horner told Sky Sports F1: "I really didn't think he was going to pull that off.
"Lewis, eight-lap newer tyres, the first set of hards that had come off, we were pretty much down to the canvas and then thinking 'we aren't going to have much left at the end here'.
"Really, the way he managed that tyre through the last stint to make sure he had enough for the last five or six laps, we talked about getting out of turn 11 at the beginning of the race, it was about getting out of it at the end that was going to be crucial."
Horner has experience of losing a lead at the end of a race after a long chase after Jenson Button got the better of Sebastian Vettel in the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix.
"Lewis, you know at the end of the race he is so strong and he went long and bought himself an advantage," added Horner.
"To lose a race in the last two or three laps... we lost one in Montreal [2011] and that really hurt. To lose one here would have been really painful.
"Max just held on, he did a great job and managed the race really smartly and had just enough at the end there."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 star emerges as SHOCK target for Audi
- 45 minutes ago
F1 News Today: Horner BLAMED for Newey nightmare as ‘absolute b******s’ Red Bull claims slammed
- 1 hour ago
Hamilton F1 rival makes astonishing admission with Verstappen claim
- 1 hour ago
McLaren boss keen for stunning Alonso REUNION
- 2 hours ago
Schumacher BLAMES Horner for Red Bull's Newey nightmare
- 3 hours ago
Hamilton in Ferrari F1 SHOCK after team snub revealed
- Today 09:12
Related news
F1 applies for trademark for new US grand prix venue
FIA summon FOUR F1 teams to official hearing over alleged rule breaches
Hamilton disputes FIA punishment and claims 'a lot of other cars were illegal'
F1 champion slams 'dirty' Max Verstappen move
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