P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Horner’s ‘cunning plan’ comes to life
Sky Sports F1 recently revisited a clip featuring pundit Ted Kravitz discussing Christian Horner’s strategic plan to snatch the championship from McLaren’s drivers, which is proving to be increasingly accurate each passing week. Piastri and Norris appeared to be in a head-to-head battle for the title midway through the season, but Verstappen has made a strong comeback in the last eight races. Despite being 104 points behind Piastri after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, Verstappen has won five of the last eight races and is now close to overtaking Norris.
Kravitz revealed that Horner’s plan, set in May before the Spanish Grand Prix, aimed to keep Verstappen close to the McLaren drivers and rely on them cracking under the pressure of their first major title fight. Piastri has shown signs of struggling under pressure, with incidents like crashing in Azerbaijan’s qualifying and false starting in races. Red Bull’s recent strategic errors, such as the mishap in Qatar, hint at cracks under pressure.
Though Horner is no longer with the team, his influence is evident. He envisioned keeping Verstappen in the title hunt until the final races, banking on Max’s experience to handle championship pressure better than contenders Piastri and Norris. Piastri, who sarcastically responded to the plan in May, might now be more cautious post-Qatar.
Yuki Tsunoda has faced an issue with Red Bull’s ‘Plan B’ after uncovering a secret.
