Christian Horner reckoned Max Verstappen’s pole position lap was one of the best qualifying laps of his racing career. However, the Red Bull team principal’s satisfaction doubled after the Dutchman converted his Monaco GP pole into a win.
Verstappen had to tackle a tough race that saw rain. The driver was also constantly challenged by the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso. Alonso managed to keep himself close to the Red Bull car throughout the race.
However, Horner admits their team hadn’t expected the veteran to be Verstappen’s biggest threat. They had anticipated Ferrari to be bigger than the Spaniard.
Christian Horner anticipated a Ferrari threat
Ahead of the race, Red Bull boss Christian Horner stated that Red Bull might struggle in Monaco. The RB19’s design and car concept do not match Monaco’s track layout. Instead, Horner believed rivals Ferrari had the edge this weekend,
Horner claimed Ferrari was much better in slow corners. This would have made them a bigger threat this weekend over Fernando Alonso-led Aston Martin.
A magnificent drive from Max brings up the 39th victory of his career 💪
The Dutchman is now just two victories behind Ayrton Senna’s tally#MonacoGP @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/tcxVLuwYuB
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 28, 2023
Horner said on Sky Sports, “We were on the ropes here. We knew coming here was going to be our biggest challenge in the first half of the year here. With the low-speed nature, we thought Ferrari would be the main opponent but Fernando has been on fire all weekend.”
Alonso forced the Dutchman to complete over 50 laps in his medium tires. However, the Spaniard was unlucky as Aston Martin fit him with mediums instead of Inters during his pitstop. This cost him a chance to fight Verstappen for the race win.
Red Bull was prepared for wet weather reveals Horner
Christian Horner and the remaining team principals were aware of the chances of light rain during the 2023 Monaco GP. However, the amount of rain that poured in during the race was unprecedented.
However, championship leaders, the Red Bull boss states they were prepared for the challenge. He said, “When you’re the lead car you can only lose, you have nothing to gain. You’ve just got to try and work with the conditions.”
Radars, spotters and looking to see if anyone has an umbrella up! ☂️
Christian Horner on the difficulties of predicting the weather in Monaco 🌧️👇 pic.twitter.com/u062VMkx0V
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 28, 2023
Horner reveals the team had weather spotters who were updating the Red Bull pit wall for rain. He kept an eye on the crowd, in case any umbrellas were popped open.
he added, “We have spotters out there, you’re trying to look at the radar, looking at the crowd and just trying to piece it together. The driver has the best knowledge of what’s going on on the circuit.
With the win, Max Verstappen now leads the 2023 drivers standings by 39 points. Red Bull extend their lead in the constructor’s trophy by 129 points over Aston Martin.
