Horner: Intermediate tyre gamble was worth it

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has stuck by the teams' decision to pit Max Verstappen for intermediate tyres in the German Grand Prix, saying it was worth the risk at the time. 

Verstappen was forced to pit just a few laps later to fit dry tyres after the rain failed to really materialise. Speaking after the race Horner reiterated that Verstappen was in position to make the call having been so far ahead of Kevin Magnussen in P5.

“Max was on a one-stop strategy running in P4, it started to rain and with a couple of cars running wide, including Max, we decided to take a gamble and pit him for the intermediate tyre.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t rain enough and the inter tyre got burnt up so Max had to pit again for the soft tyre. From the position we were in with no threat from behind, the gamble was worth taking but it didn’t pay off this time.

“The Safety Car then bunched the field up meaning that Max crossed the line in fourth which is about where we were on pace today.”

Horner also reflected on a disappointing race for Daniel Ricciardo, who was forced to retire from the race after suffering a power unit issue just a day after taking a fresh unit in the hopes of a strong Hungarian Grand Prix in under a weeks time.

“Max had a good start and was able to challenge Kimi (Räikkönen) on the opening laps.

"Daniel was making good progress from the back of the grid after incurring his engine penalties.

“At that point, there was a threat of rain but it was difficult to predict exactly when it would come. Unfortunately, on lap 27 Daniel’s engine failed, which is particularly disappointing alongside the penalties that he had already incurred.”