Horner keen to keep "the momentum going" following Red Bull Monaco victory

Christian Horner has dished out the praise for Max Verstappen following his race win in Monaco. The Dutchman takes the lead in the World Championship for the first time in his Formula 1 career as Lewis Hamilton had a poor day in the Mercedes. The Red Bull boss is keen to keep the momentum going as the F1 circus heads to another street circuit next time out. 

A phenomenal day

Verstappen was due to start the race from P2, but an issue for pole-sitter Charle Leclerc ruled the Ferrari driver out of the race before the event started. As a result, Verstappen had the advantage. Horner acknowledges this in his interview with Sky Sports. 

"It's been a phenomenal day. Commiserations to Charles and Ferrari, it was tough for them but their loss was our gain today. Max converted the race beautifully, he controlled it from the very first corner. He managed the tyres and pushed when he needed to. The strategy worked well. With Checo, he had great pace today and managed to make the overcut work well," Horner said. 

Championship gains

Verstappen leads the championship by four points. With Hamilton's poor result and Valtteri Bottas' DNF, Red Bull Racing also lead the constructors' championship. 

"Mercedes had a tough day. It happens sometimes, that's racing. It's been a great day for us championship wise, it's so close between the two teams so it was important for us to come here and score large. Job done here, we've got to keep that momentum going," Horner added.