Max Verstappen praised Red Bull for delivering “an amazing Team effort” to deliver victory at 2021 French Grand Prix, whilst Sergio Perez made it a one-three finish for the team on the podium.
Verstappen recovered from a mistake at Turn Two on the race start to undercut Lewis Hamilton before opting for a second stop unlike the Brit, which ultimately rewarded him with victory following a penultimate lap overtake.
Explaining that he had “lost the rear” on the exit of Turn One into Turn Two after getting away from pole in the lead, Verstappen admitted that he was “upset” at the mistake” as he struggled for pace in the opening stint.
The 23 year-old also confessed that he didn’t expect to see his undercut work after pitting on lap 19 as he re-joined in the lead after Hamilton made his stop a lap later, although Verstappen did have to do a lot of defending ahead of his second stop.
Explaining why he opted for a two-stopper, Verstappen commented: “We decided to go for the two stop strategy which worked out well as our car suited the conditions towards the end of the race as the wind became a little less and the track rubbered in.”
Verstappen consequently felt that Red Bull had made the “right calls” for both cars as Perez opted for the one-stop strategy with a medium tyre opening stint of 25 laps before spending 29 laps on the hard tyres as he took third on lap 49 with a sweeping move on Valtteri Bottas.
Perez meanwhile recovered from an inconsistent weekend to finish third as he echoed Verstappen’s praise on strategy decisions, although he already is looking ahead to a double header at the Red Bull Ring across the next fortnight.
The two-time F1 race winner believes that the Styrian Grand Prix round next weekend will provide him with “an understanding of how the car performs around there and as a result a better baseline”, to take into the Austrian GP across 2-4 July.
Horner “Proud” of Consecutive Victories
Team Principal, Christian Horner meanwhile has spoken of feeling “proud” of Red Bull’s improved form as they won three consecutive races in the hybrid era for the first time, whilst extending their leads in both driver and constructor standings.
Horner also explained that the inspiration behind their two-stopper was Mercedes’ successful tactic in Spain last month as Hamilton defeated Verstappen in that race on the alternative strategy, hence their decision to unleash “the trigger” on a two-stopper which rewarded them with the win.
Red Bull however were given strategical headaches by Mercedes throughout the race which Horner spoke of as evidence of there being “very little between the cars” so has vowed “to keep pushing and looking for more performance.”