Horner: It "didn't make sense" for Verstappen and Perez to fight in Spanish GP

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insists it “didn’t make sense” for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez to battle in the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix while on different strategies.

Horner: It "didn't make sense" for Verstappen and Perez to fight in Spanish GP

Perez made it clear that he wasn’t happy that he was asked to let Verstappen past into the lead in later stages of the race.

However, Horner insists it would have been an “unfair fight” because at the time the Dutchman was on a quicker three-stop strategy.

In the end having ceded the lead, Perez also stopped three times, and he eventually finished 13 seconds behind the sister car.

Horner said the Mexican wasn’t necessarily able to see the bigger picture during the heat of battle.

“I spoke with him when he got out the car,” he said when asked by Autosport how he would deal with Perez.

“The problem for any driver, if they don't have the clear overview of the strategy or a race put in front of them, it's always going to be emotive to give up a lead.

“But he played very much the team game, I think he understood clearly it wasn't like a like-for-like fight, because the pace delta between the strategies was so great that from a team point of view, for me, it just didn't make any sense. Which was why we didn't let the drivers get into a fight today.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, 2nd position, arrive in Parc Ferme

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, 2nd position, arrive in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Verstappen initially ended up behind Perez after a gust of wind on lap nine caught him out while he was running second behind Charles Leclerc, and sent him off track. He lost a place to George Russell as well as to his team-mate Perez.

“He closed quickly on Checo, Checo released him to have a go at George,” said Horner. “And then obviously, George was very robust in his defence, and without the benefit of a consistent DRS, it was very difficult for Max to make the pass.

“Eventually he obviously he got the job done, but at that point, we decided our best way to beat George was to try and get Max a tyre advantage and convert to a three-stop strategy.

“And we were still undecided at that stage whether three versus two - you could see our tyres were in better condition than some of our rivals.

“And then of course the Ferrari retired, unfortunately for Leclerc. So at that point, we've converted Max onto a three-stop, that then puts him out of sync with Checo. We managed to bag a pitstop over George, and then of course, he very quickly closed on Checo.”

Read Also:

Horner insisted that Verstappen’s pace advantage at that point in the race meant that it wouldn’t have been logical for the pair to fight.

“At that stage, there was a tyre delta of close to two seconds a lap. So with temperatures, water temperatures, oil temperatures, a DRS that was intermittently working, it didn't make any sense from a team [point of view] to let them fight, because it was an unfair fight anyway,” he said.

“As it turned out we had to pit Checo anyway for the end of the race. So both drivers worked together as a team, and to get the maximum points today was hugely important on a day that unfortunately, Ferrari had an issue.”

shares
comments

F1 warns Spanish GP to fix 'unacceptable' traffic issues

Leclerc feeling better after Spanish GP DNF than Miami second place

How F1's new era has exposed the downside of its most important rule

How F1's new era has exposed the downside of its most important rule

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Jonathan Noble

How F1's new era has exposed the downside of its most important rule How F1's new era has exposed the downside of its most important rule

What next for Mercedes in its quest to get back to the top of F1?

What next for Mercedes in its quest to get back to the top of F1?

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Alex Kalinauckas

What next for Mercedes in its quest to get back to the top of F1? What next for Mercedes in its quest to get back to the top of F1?

Why Piastri’s F1 homecoming will be a landmark occasion

Why Piastri’s F1 homecoming will be a landmark occasion

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Australian GP
GP Racing

Why Piastri’s F1 homecoming will be a landmark occasion Why Piastri’s F1 homecoming will be a landmark occasion

The recent Australian GP form history that will boost Ferrari in F1 2023

The recent Australian GP form history that will boost Ferrari in F1 2023

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Australian GP
Alex Kalinauckas

The recent Australian GP form history that will boost Ferrari in F1 2023 The recent Australian GP form history that will boost Ferrari in F1 2023

The cycle of F1 upheaval Williams must end to rediscover past glories

The cycle of F1 upheaval Williams must end to rediscover past glories

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
GP Racing

The cycle of F1 upheaval Williams must end to rediscover past glories The cycle of F1 upheaval Williams must end to rediscover past glories

The state of play in F1's technical silly season

The state of play in F1's technical silly season

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Jake Boxall-Legge

The state of play in F1's technical silly season The state of play in F1's technical silly season

Ranking the top 10 pre-war grand prix drivers

Ranking the top 10 pre-war grand prix drivers

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Kevin Turner

Ranking the top 10 pre-war grand prix drivers Ranking the top 10 pre-war grand prix drivers

Why drivers are the least of Ferrari’s F1 worries

Why drivers are the least of Ferrari’s F1 worries

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
GP Racing

Why drivers are the least of Ferrari’s F1 worries Why drivers are the least of Ferrari’s F1 worries