Horner after race at Silverstone: 'We were extremely exposed on the straights'

Published on 08 July 2018 by Julien Lemmen

The end result of the British Grand Prix wasn't as expected for Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. Max Verstappen had to retire due to a brake-by-wire issue, while teammate Daniel Ricciardo only finished in fifth place. 

Team principal Christian Horner reflects after the race: "A tough race today. Max initially got up to third place from the busy start with Daniel also moving up a place to run in fifth. Then after the safety car we felt that strategically we made the right call putting both drivers on the medium tyre to the end of the race, though as you could see both of our drivers were unfortunately powerless to attack or defend against our opponents today and we were extremely exposed on the straights."

"Frustratingly Max retired late in the race after a suspected brake-by-wire related issue. In the following laps to the end of the race Daniel was able to put some pressure on Bottas but, as we knew all weekend, our straight line speed was no match for Mercedes or Ferrari. Overall it was disappointing not to get both drivers to the finish but we’ll be ready to fight back in two weeks at Hockenheim. It was an exciting race for the many British fans here today, and it’s great to see a record crowd at Silverstone.”