Christian Horner applauded Max Verstappen for his ‘patience’ in dealing with the two Mercedes cars in the opening stages of the Australian Grand Prix.
Verstappen began from the pole position but had a rough start, dropping his advantage to Mercedes driver George Russell at the first turn. The Dutchman quickly moved into third place as former title rival Lewis Hamilton made a daring move at the third corner to seize the second spot.
Verstappen sat quietly behind the two Mercedes cars in the early parts of the race until Russell pulled in for a safety car stop. The Dutchman immediately pounced on race leader Hamilton, racing past the outside of the Mercedes on the run down to the turn 9-10 chicane on lap 12 to seize control of the race.
Verstappen controlled the Grand Prix from there, escaping into the distance until red flags cut into his lead, bringing him out of DRS range inside a couple of circuits.
What did Christian Horner say about Max Verstappen?
Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner was full of praise for his star driver. After the race, he said, “The two Mercedes were fast-starting. They were both very aggressive on the first lap with Max showing great patience really to not get embroiled. Then they started having a go at each other.”
Horner was also satisfied with the ease Verstappen took to take back the lead. He added, “Then they pitted George, then the red flag came out, and then it was just a straight fight between Max and Lewis, and he made very short work of that. It was a question of controlling the race from that point onwards.”
Currently, the Red Bull team is leading the Constructors Cup with 123 points. The nearest rival is Aston Martin at 65 points and then Mercedes at 56 points. Red Bull has won all three races this season, with Verstappen winning the Bahrain and Australian Grand Prix. Wingman Sergio Perez unexpectedly won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where Verstappen was second.
In the Driver’s standings, Verstappen has 69 points and Perez has 54 points. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso is the nearest to them at 45 points.
Red Bull and Verstappen will go to Baku at the end of the month. They will be hoping to keep up the team’s perfect start to the 2023 season.
