Christian horner max verstappen

Max Verstappen wasn’t going to be happy unless he produced a 1:28 in qualifying, having been spurred on by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. The Dutch driver produced a 1:29.012 on his first run in Q3, already a lap that looked good enough to confirm himself in pole position as he was four-tenths of a second quicker than second-quickest Oscar Piastri. But Verstappen wasn’t done, as he took another set of fresh softs for his second run in Q3 and stormed around in a 1:28.877 to beat his own time by another tenth of a second and wind up almost a full six-tenths clear of anyone else. Max Verstappen: I knew there was still a little bit left On the slowdown lap, Verstappen was heard on the team radio to race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase saying, “There you go, 28”, referring to his laptime. Speaking in the press conference after claiming his 29th career pole position, Verstappen was asked about the message, with the reigning World Champion revealing he had been spurred on by … [Read more...] about How race engineer dare ‘wound up’ Max Verstappen for ‘stunning’ pole lap

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has revealed Max Verstappen’s state of mind coming to Japan after a disappointing Singapore weekend. Having only finished fifth at Marina Bay last weekend, in a race where Red Bull struggled for pace for the first time in 2023, Max Verstappen arrived in Japan a ‘fired-up’ state of mind, according to Christian Horner. Plenty of question marks hung over Red Bull coming to Suzuka, given the timing of their defeat came as the FIA introduced a new technical directive aimed at curtailing bodywork flexibility, but Verstappen crushed the opposition in imperious fashion over the entire weekend. Christian Horner: Max Verstappen was totally focused on Japanese GP With Verstappen’s consecutive win record topping out at 10 races as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz won in Singapore, the Red Bull boss was asked to sum up the Dutch driver’s dominant weekend after romping home almost 20 seconds clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Horner revealed that Verstappen had just … [Read more...] about Christian Horner reveals failed vow ‘fired-up’ Max Verstappen made ahead of Japanese GP

Max Verstappen’s 1:28.8 in Q3 at Suzuka to secure pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix has been hailed as ‘one of the best in the sport’s history’. The Dutch driver put in an imperious performance in qualifying ahead of Sunday’s race, putting a 1:29.012 on his first lap in Q3 – a time that would have been good enough for pole position in itself. But Verstappen wasn’t done and, despite very little threat from those behind him, dug deep to put in a 1:28.8 on his second run, having been spurred on by a bit of pre-qualifying smack talk between himself and race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. Christian Horner: Max Verstappen lap ‘something very special’ With Verstappen’s pole advantage the largest as Suzuka since Michael Schumacher’s effort in 2004 at the wheel of the dominant Ferrari F2004, Red Bull boss Christian Horner seemed blindsided by what his driver had achieved on the second Q3 lap. “I think what we’ve witnessed today is something very special, to be honest,” he told … [Read more...] about ‘Without Max Verstappen, Red Bull would have been second row of the grid’

How would Sergio Perez be faring if he didn’t have to worry about Max Verstappen as his teammate at Red Bull? While Sergio Perez is ending the 2023 season on something of a low note having spent most of the year struggling for consistent form alongside Max Verstappen, the Mexican driver’s success – and reputation – would have been very, very different without his teammate alongside. Removing Verstappen, and turning Red Bull into a one-car team, would still have resulted in outright title success for Red Bull and Perez, according to Christian Horner. Christian Horner: Sergio Perez would have won the titles for Red Bull Speaking to media after Verstappen’s dominant win at Suzuka, which wrapped up the Constructors’ Championship for Red Bull for a sixth time, Horner was asked whether or not the team could have won the championship with just one car. Verstappen’s 400 points massively eclipses Mercedes’ current 305-point score, meaning the Dutch driver would still be keeping Red … [Read more...] about Red Bull predict what Sergio Perez would achieve without Max Verstappen

Alex Albon can see where Christian Horner is coming from by once saying he was almost “too nice” to race for Red Bull, Albon suggesting that was a symptom of youth. Albon’s rise was a meteoric one in the Red Bull ranks, as just half a season after his recall to the programme to join Toro Rosso for 2019, he was sent to the main Red Bull team to partner Max Verstappen following the struggles of Pierre Gasly. By the end of the 2020 campaign Albon though found himself dropped from the second Red Bull seat after similar difficulties against Verstappen, spending 2021 as Red Bull’s reserve driver before joining Williams for the following season, where he has now established himself as one of the hottest prospects on the grid. Alex Albon felt Red Bull call came too early Speaking to Sky F1, their pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz told Albon that when news came through of his Red Bull promotion back in 2019, he had his doubts over whether it was the right move at the time. Albon said he … [Read more...] about Alex Albon responds to Christian Horner saying he was ‘too nice’ for Red Bull seat

Christian Horner has warned rivals that Red Bull’s Singapore GP defeat was “pretty much circuit-specific”, and Max Verstappen’s emphatic P1 in Friday’s first practice in Japan backed up his claims. Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris finished 1-2 in the Singapore Grand Prix, but it is fair to say that Red Bull lost the race on a weekend in which they couldn’t maximise the RB19’s strengths and got lost in the set-up trying to find a solution. It marked the team’s first defeat of the season, bringing an end to their record-breaking 15-race streak that began last year in Abu Dhabi, with Verstappen fifth across the line while his teammate Sergio Perez was P8. But if there was any doubt about Red Bull losing the plot, Verstappen answered that in the opening practice hour in Japan with an indomitable P1 as he led from start to finish. Crossing the line six-tenths of a second up on Singapore winner Sainz, Horner was asked about his team’s resurgence in Japan. “It’s still early days, but … [Read more...] about Christian Horner’s warning to Red Bull’s rivals after ‘circuit-specific’ defeat

Left to digest a wretched Singapore Grand Prix weekend, Max Verstappen emphatically answered the question in Japan as to whether that was a one-off, or the beginning of Red Bull’s downfall. His 1:30.688 in Friday’s second practice for the Japanese GP weekend put him 0.3sseconds ahead of Charles Leclerc at Suzuka with Lando Norris third fastest. On a muggy afternoon at the Suzuka circuit, the drivers hit the track on a mix of compounds with Pirelli’s prototype non-marked tyres also in play. Valtteri Bottas on the test tyres set the pace in the first 10 minutes with a 1:33.1. Max Verstappen in control in Japan There was an early problem for Verstappen, at least from those looking in from the outside, as the Red Bull driver had a tear-off stuck to the side of this car. But what might have been an issue for some was not for the reigning World Champion as he laid down a 1:31.3 to go fastest of all on the soft tyres. It was an interesting move, and maybe a sign of their … [Read more...] about Japanese Grand Prix: Max Verstappen lays down a marker against Red Bull rivals

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says Max Verstappen cast his Singapore GP frustrations away by taking to the paddle tennis courts, beating his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, which Horner joked was not well-received. Verstappen went into the Singapore Grand Prix on a run of 10 victories in a row, toppling the previous record of nine set by Sebastian Vettel as a Red Bull driver. Red Bull meanwhile were unbeaten in 15 ahead of their trip to the Marina Bay Street Circuit, but both streaks came to a surprise end. Christian Horner praises Max Verstappen mentality Both Verstappen and Sergio Perez would be eliminated in the Q2 stage of qualifying, and while the RB19 looked much closer to its best in race trim, P5 was the best that Verstappen could manage. Horner though praised their soon-to-be three-time World Champion for his “very constructive” response to that shock defeat, though the process to get over it did not exactly leave Lambiase in the best of moods as Verstappen … [Read more...] about Christian Horner reveals Max Verstappen Singapore reset method which ‘did not go down well’

Christian Horner believes it’s “unlikely” that Liam Lawson will head to Williams next season to replace the struggling Logan Sargeant. AlphaTauri confirmed Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda will drive for the team next season with Lawson as reserve driver, though the young New Zealander has impressed with his stand-in performances in Ricciardo’s injury-enforced absence, taking his first F1 points in Singapore last time out. He has performed to a degree that had put him in the conversation about whether he deserved a full-time drive at AlphaTauri next season, but the team opted for their known quantities in 2024. Christian Horner addresses Liam Lawson to Williams rumours Pundits such as Karun Chandhok believe Williams, now the only team with an uncontracted seat available for next year, would be a good fit for Lawson, given the problems Sargeant has had to match Alex Albon at the team this year. And when asked directly if a full-time drive at Williams could be on offer for … [Read more...] about Christian Horner quizzed on Liam Lawson Williams rumours as AlphaTauri duo confirmed