Christian Horner expressed his bewilderment at McLaren’s mastery of Formula 1’s technical regulations, specifically in managing extreme tyre wear at hot tracks like Austria. He saw his team’s 77-race point-scoring streak come to an end at the Austrian Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen crashing out and Yuki Tsunoda finishing last. The race was won by McLaren’s Lando Norris, closely followed by teammate Oscar Piastri, who now leads the drivers’ standings by 15 points.
After the race, Horner praised McLaren’s ability to run closely behind without damaging their tyres, highlighting their impressive car performance. He noted the challenge of maintaining tyre integrity under such conditions and credited McLaren’s car balance for their success. Reflecting on a disappointing weekend at the Red Bull Ring, Horner lamented Max Verstappen’s early race crash caused by a mistake from Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
He described it as a forgettable home race experience, attributing their misfortune to a qualifying setback that placed them in a risky position during the race. Despite Kimi’s apology to Max, the incident significantly impacted Red Bull’s performance in the race.
