Red Bull along with Max Verstappen decided to take a huge gamble toward the end of the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix. With a 24-second lead, Verstappen was called to the pit to change into the soft compound tires after he wanted to go for the fastest lap and get an extra point.
Realistically, it was a risky way to wrap up the race. Red Bull boss Horner revealed a special reason why they decided to do it regardless, however. Horner stated that they remembered the late owner of Red Bull Dietrich Mateschitz, who pulled off a risky, yet exciting move once upon a time.
The Dutch driver pitted of soft compound tires, but his exit was somewhat nervy. The comfortable 24-second lead was reduced to barely two seconds. However, in the end, the defending champion went home to continue his supremacy with over five seconds to spare from Leclerc, saving the team from major embarrassment.
Red Bull decided to go all the way with Max Verstappen despite opposition
Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase was strictly against the last-minute pit stop. Despite his opposition, the team gave the green-light to box.
Citing the risk they have taken, Horner revealed that it was all about Mateschitz’s mantra of “no risk no fun” they had in their head throughout.
What a way to finish a perfect weekend @redbullracing 🏆
An absolutely amazing job by everyone in the team 💪
A big thank you goes out to everyone for joining us on the Red Bull Ring! Your support is seriously unmatched 👏🦁#AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/OtDDffn6WB
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) July 2, 2023
Talking about this as per a report published by ESPN, the British boss said, “It was at the back of my mind his mantra was ‘no risk, no fun’. And the mechanics have been in such great form it seemed like a low-risk thing to do in the end.”
Furthermore, Verstappen, who wasn’t feeling any risk himself, also added that the team was a bit nervous if they were going to pull off the pit stop. Because a mistake or delay in the stop would be handing over the win to Ferrari.
Despite the race being concluded, the risk was still there
The Austrian GP in 2023 was a race full of impedance and lap deletion. Multiple drivers crossed the track limits at the entry and exits of turns 9 and 10 and had their lap times deleted.
With that said, Max Verstappen who had finished the race in P1 had the risk of having his win taken away after Aston Martin approached the FIA to challenge on the limits.
Luckily for the Red Bull driver, the result wasn’t changed for . However, Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, and Esteban Ocon faced the heat more than anyone else as they went down in the timesheet.
