How Red Bull used Ricciardo's Monaco demons to overcome Ferrari

Red Bull

How Red Bull used Ricciardo's Monaco demons to overcome Ferrari

Perez came from third to first last weekend

Ewan Gale

Friday 3 June 2022 08:00

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed how learnings from Daniel Ricciardo's haunting 2016 Monaco Grand Prix loss helped to overcome Ferrari at the weekend.

Ricciardo was comfortably leading the race six years ago when entering the pits to switch from intermediates to slick tyres, but Red Bull was unprepared even though it had called him in, allowing Lewis Hamilton a clear route to victory.

On Sunday, Red Bull was the beneficiary of a strategic error as Ferrari threw away a one-two finish in the principality to allow Sergio Perez to jump both drivers during the crossover from wet-to-dry running.

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"You have got to have effective and clear communication," said Horner. "As a pit-wall, we had all the information but we were using the information well to get the crossover right.

"We were debating whether we go straight from the extreme onto the slick."

Referring to the 2016 race, Horner added: "We saw from Lewis, the one that hurt us a few years ago with Daniel, it was a quicker route to go through the inter onto the slick.

"The power of the out-lap was enormous and I think Checo absolutely nailed it."

Red Bull proud of attacking culture

Red Bull has cemented itself as the leading team on tactics in the past few seasons with its aggressive race strategies often leaving rivals trailing.

"I have always prided ourselves on being an attacking race team," explained Horner.

"We have always focused on trying to do the basics well, whether that is strategy, whether that is pit-stops, thinking on your feet and I think it was all about thinking on your feet and reacting to the situation as it happens around you.

"I think the whole team responded brilliantly well and the drivers, of course, had to deliver their part."

Additional reporting by Ian Parkes