Formula 1 | Red Bull, Horner: “Ferrari faster than us, next five decisive races!”

All in all, Max Verstappen's second place at Zeltweg can be taken positively. Red Bull had major tire degradation problems, and if it hadn't been for Sainz's engine failure, the Dutch champion would have also lost position to the Spaniard from Ferrari. Things went badly for Perez, however, who retired after the first lap accident with Russell.

“It was surprising to see tire degradation like that – said Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal at Sky. In the Sprint it seemed similar to that of the Ferrari, while today something changed, I don't know if it was due to the temperature, the rain during the night or the fuel load. Ferrari was faster than us in the first stint, we went to two stops so we were always there chasing, but they had a great car today. Max pushed hard at the end but it wasn't enough."

“The initial contact with Russell cost Checo the retirement. The damage he sustained was severe and therefore he couldn't continue, evidently passing a Mercedes at that point on the outside isn't good (remembering 2020, ed.). It's a shame because he was certainly in front, he suffered irreparable damage to the surface and at that point, with two laps behind, there was no point in continuing”.

“The next races, up to Monza, will be decisive – concludes Horner. Things change quite quickly, Ferrari was very competitive here, we were unlucky at Silverstone and so it will be like this in every race from here to Abu Dhabi."