Horner after Azerbaijan Grand Prix: 'Step closer to Mercedes and Ferrari'

Published on 28 April 2019 by Bryan van Berlo

Christian Horner, team principal of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, had the following to say after today's Azerbaijan Grand Prix: “Max drove a strong race today. Unfortunately, after losing a position at the start to Perez, by the time he managed to get back past, he’d lost touch with the lead group. He then drove a very strong middle stint and caught the lead group by 10 seconds.”

“He was within three seconds of Sebastian before the virtual safety car, ironically caused by Pierre, which took too much temperature out of his tyres and he just didn’t have the same pace after that. Not knowing fully what had happened with Pierre’s car, we decided to make sure that we got Max to the finish and he drove a conservative final few laps.”

“For Pierre, whilst it’s been frustrating for him results wise, this has actually been his strongest race weekend of the year to date. He drove a very strong race today and when you compare his pace to Charles Leclerc, who started the race on the same tyre, for fifty percent of his first stint he was faster than Charles. Unfortunately, a driveshaft issue caused his retirement fifteen laps before what would have been an easy sixth place. Pierre can take an awful lot of positives out of the weekend for a very strong performance and it’s positive that we’ve taken a step closer to Mercedes and Ferrari.”