“We made some good set-up changes” – Red Bull boss Christian Horner on the contribution by Alex Albon to help the team climb the top of both standings.
The Monaco Grand Prix could prove to be a turning point for Red Bull this season. In a race weekend full of drama, Charles Leclerc saw his Ferrari take pole position following a self-caused Red Flag, but a driveshaft problem meant Max Verstappen effectively started on pole.
The Dutch star won the race, while his teammate Sergio Perez finished an impressive P4. The icing on the cake was the results of their arch-rivals Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton struggling to get past Pierre Gasly even, and Valtteri Bottas bearing the brunt of a pitched pit-stop.
Great team work today, strategy, pitstops. We had a great pace and were able to minimize the damage from the lousy qualy.
Plenty of work still to be done to improve on Saturdays, but we’re still making progress!
Great day for the whole team, well done @Max33Verstappen pic.twitter.com/IgdVJzLjYq— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) May 23, 2021
Red Bull leading both championships
This means Red Bull arrive at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku leading both the driver and constructors championships, albeit by a fine margin over Mercedes. Their boss Christian Horner is super pleased with it, also crediting test & reserve driver Alex Albon for his role in shaping that victory.
“We were not in great shape on Thursday in Monaco and Max was not particularly happy with the car. But the work behind the scenes, the work Alex has been putting in on the sim, all helped to turn it around for Saturday.
“We made some good set-up changes, got Max and Checo a lot happier with the car, and Max was obviously gutted to miss out on pole with the red flag.
“We all went into Saturday evening a little frustrated because we all knew how difficult it would be to overtake. But Ferrari’s misfortune turned into our good fortune and it was important for us to convert the opportunity.
“We are only five races in, there is still a huge amount of distance to cover this season but a win in Monaco puts a spring in everyone’s step.”
Read more “Mercedes have been mighty there”– Christian Horner nervous of Mercedes challenge in Baku
