Red Bull reacts to sensational Spa one-two

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez and Christian Horner have reacted to the sensational Belgian Grand Prix one-two the team pulled off.

The result cements Red Bull at the top of the constructor’s championship while Verstappen now has a stronghold on the driver’s standings.

Verstappen had to start from 14th place on the grid but did so with supreme confidence in the race pace of his car.

Max Verstappen wins sensational grand prix in Spa

He admits that it was tricky to stay out of trouble on a chaotic first lap but from there he was confident of working his way through the pack.

Verstappen said: “This whole weekend has been incredible. It’s never easy though, it was quite a hectic first lap staying out of trouble, so many things were happening in front of me and everyone was trying to maintain their spot. After the safety car and when it had all calmed down, we made our way forward by picking the right places to overtake and we could look after our tyres. Now we need to keep on working hard and focus on each race ahead of us. We know that we have to finish every race, we don’t need to win every race but we want to as a Team. Let’s see what we can do in Zandvoort.”

Red Bull on top

Perez started from second on the grid but an early spin left him playing catchup, however, he did very well and might have won the race if not for the hard-charging Verstappen having a clear edge in speed around Spa.

Perez added: “It is a great weekend for the Team and I am very pleased with that because we have been working so hard. Max was on another planet today and so quick, I want to understand my race pace and where I lost out to him, I am aware of the gap and I want to come back stronger. 

“I had a really bad start but luckily I was able to rectify it. I went into a lot of wheel spin as soon as I released the clutch and couldn’t get any traction, especially when I went into second gear, it meant I lost a lot of positions. 

“I think my first stint wasn’t very strong and that really made a difference and determined a lot of my race. I need to be at a better level for Zandvoort and Monza. There is plenty to look at and hopefully I go into next weekend even stronger, I think things will be a lot closer there so I am looking forward to it massively. We are going to push really hard.”

Best Red Bull outing ever 

Horner couldn’t be happier with the outing with Verstappen setting a new bar for the team in winning from 14th on the grid and doing it in a one-two that puts Red Bull in charge of both championship fights.

He said: “This was our biggest ever achievement to date. We have never won a race from as far back as P14 and to take a 1 – 2 with Checo, along with fastest lap, is an outstanding achievement. It’s a fantastic win for Max and he has been in a class of his own on the track this weekend but it really is a team victory; for everyone here and all the team back in Milton Keynes. There is a lot of hard work that goes in behind the scenes that contributes to a performance like today and would also like to thank HRC for their contribution to this victory.”