Horner after Italian GP: 'Despite penalty, Max has done a good job'

Published on 02 September 2018 by Bryan van Berlo

Christian Horner, team principal of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, had the following to say after today's race in Italy: “After a strong start Max was able to pass Valtteri Bottas into the chicane, then avoid the incident at Turn 2 and complete the first lap in P3. He was then able to consolidate that position and keep Valtteri behind throughout the first stint. We pitted once we found a window and changed to the soft tyre and Max’s pace was strong enough to maintain track position to Valtteri who was always going to have the advantage at the end of the race with the fresher tyre.”

“Whilst defending from the Mercedes into Turn 1 the stewards unfortunately judged that he didn’t quite leave enough space resulting in a five-second penalty dropping him from a finish position of P3 to P5. Nonetheless, Max has driven the wheels off the car all afternoon and done a good job.”

“Daniel made up places early in the race and was making good ground but unfortunately we had an issue causing us to retire the car with a lot of smoke coming out of the air intake. We are still not entirely sure on the cause but it is a suspected clutch issue.”