“That Killed Any Chance”: Christian Horner Reveals What Ruined Red Bull’s Chance to Break Into Podium Despite Heavy Disadvantage

Sabyasachi Biswas | 18/09/2023
“That Killed Any Chance”: Christian Horner Reveals What Ruined Red Bull’s Chance to Break Into Podium Despite Heavy Disadvantage

The 2023 Singapore Grand Prix saw Red Bull take its first defeat of the season after Carlos Sainz of Ferrari took the Chequered Flag at Marina Bay Circuit. As the Austrian team lost their 15-race winning streak, Max Verstappen also saw his dominant run of ten consecutive race wins end. However, Verstappen was never in the fight for a win after Saturday’s poor qualification. Despite this, the Dutchman saw an outside chance of having a shot at the podium, if not at a win, which was jeopardized by an unwanted incident, as said by Christian Horner to F1 TV on YouTube.

In Lap 43 of the Singapore GP, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon pulled up by the side of the track. This triggered a virtual safety car that allowed Mercedes to pit for new medium tires.

This, on the other hand, ended Verstappen’s chances of doing anything substantial in the end. Therefore, the Dutchman lost out on a chance of finishing on the podium, as emphasized by Horner later on.

Christian Horner reveals where Verstappen lost the chance of redemption

During the post-Singapore GP race interview with F1 TV, Horner revealed the exact reason why Verstappen lost out his shot at the podium.

When asked about it in the interview, he said, “The Safety Car couldn’t have come at a worst time. That really killed any chance of getting into contention [of a podium.]” However, Verstappen finished in a respectable P5, because of George Russell’s crash in the end.

Admittedly, Horner was not the only one who believed in the insane redemption chance. It was Verstappen himself who also thought that he could pull off a stunner at Marina Bay Circuit.

Max Verstappen also saw his hope quashed after the safety car

Max Verstappen pitted for fresher tires minutes before Ocon pulled up by the side of the track. This, as a result, neutralized the efforts made by him to have a positive impact on the race.

Even the Dutchman agreed that he revealed the same during the post-race interview. He said that he had great pace with the medium tires, but the timing of the safety car jeopardized his chances.

Nevertheless, Horner is of the opinion that the upcoming race in Japan will be a better one. It will be a matter of time before Max Verstappen and Red Bull get back to their winning ways after an unwanted break.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
carlos sainz Christian Horner Max Verstappen

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Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

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