Christian Horner reveals how hard the 2021 season fight was for the Austrian side in a podcast recently.
The last 12 months have been particularly dramatic for Red Bull as a team. The team was in a fierce battle with Mercedes with Max Verstappen going head-to-head with Lewis Hamilton to win the ultimate title.
Horner revealed how the season unfolded from Red Bull’s perspective and how Verstappen and the camp coped with the pressure.
When asked if Lewis and Verstappen got into each other’s head, Horner replied:
“I think arguably more so in Lewis’ head, because he’s a seven-time world champion… he has everything to lose. Max is the young kid that’s taking the risks, that’s throwing everything at it and has got nothing to lose,”
Horner interjected.
Verstappen himself said similar words multiple times before and after his maiden world title.
Verstappen’s masterclass
What Max Verstappen did with the RB16B last season is commendable. The Dutchman managed to win 10 races out of 22 in his Red Bull. He also secured 10 pole positions.
“Some of his overtaking last year was stunning and you felt that started to rattle Lewis. You definitely saw when Lewis qualified on pole at Silverstone and Max won the sprint race, he was a bit broken after the sprint race. Had Max made it through Copse, I don’t think he would have seen him again after that. So there was an air of desperation building as well. It was high-stakes stuff and the emotions run high,”
said the Red Bull team boss.
Christian Horner believes the fight between the duo was hard and it will take him an age to recover from the last season.
Respect for Hamilton – Horner
The adrenaline rush was high throughout the season. The emotions were flowing uncontrollably yet you need to respect your opponents and rivals. Christian Horner praised Hamilton for his achievements during the podcast:
“You can’t not respect everything Lewis has done and achieved, it’s quite remarkable and maybe never to be bettered. But everybody is beatable at some point in time and Max had respect for him, but he wasn’t in awe of him. He wasn’t afraid of them, he relished going up against him and the opportunity to go wheel-to-wheel racing with him. He believed that he could beat him, and it was that inner belief and self-confidence that we saw on so many occasions come through.”
Horner further revealed that he reached out to Michael Masi several times after Abu Dhabi. The Briton believes that the way Masi was treated was not right.
Red Bull comfortably lead the 2022 season as Ferrari failed to put a tough fight after the opening few races.
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