Christian Horner quips ‘statistics apparently don’t matter’ as Red Bull’s run ends
Red Bull's winning streak ended in Singapore.
As Red Bull’s historic run ended in Singapore, Christian Horner couldn’t resist one last dig at Toto Wolff as he said “statistics apparently don’t matter” but that Red Bull could be proud of their stats.
Red Bull’s record-breaking run of 15 grand prix victories, starting back at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, ended in Singapore on Sunday along with Max Verstappen’s 10-race winning streak.
On a wretched and confusing weekend for Red Bull, the team perplexed by the RB19’s insurmountable problems, Verstappen crossed the line in fifth place with his teammate Sergio Perez eighth.
Red Bull’s streak ended with a whimper, not a bang
But while Carlos Sainz’s victory also brought an end to talk of a Red Bull whitewash for the season, Horner believes his team can be “incredibly proud” of what they’ve achieved.
“We never expected it,” he said. “I mean there are still eight races to go. You guys have been asking me since pretty much Jeddah, and to have got through 15 races is beyond our wildest imaginations.
“For Max to have won 10 in a row is insanity. Last time a driver did that was Sebastian in one of our cars. Incredibly proud to have the first and the second most winningest drivers in Formula 1.
“Whilst statistics apparently don’t matter, they are ones that as a team are incredibly proud of and to have got this far, to have broken the record since 1988, shows just how hard it is to achieve the kind of supremacy that we’ve achieved this year. And that’s testimony to everybody doing and playing their part.”
That the team’s run ended in such inglorious circumstances withRed Bull never in the fightfor a podium finish – never mind the race win – may have been a bitter pill to swallow. But swallow it Horner did.
“At some point, the run would have been broken anyway,” he said. “The fact that we won 15 grands prix in a row is an outstanding achievement.”
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The updated Drivers’ and Constructors’ standings after the Singapore GP
As for Verstappen, he accepts perfection was neededto continue his streakand Red Bull were anything but in Singapore.
“Everything needs to be perfect. Everyone is always saying, ‘ah look how dominant they are and look how easy it is’, but it is never easy,” he said.
“A lot of details that we need to get right and this weekend clearly we didn’t get a few things right and then you are on the back foot.”
He added: “Everything went against us as well in the race with the Safety Cars, so it was possibly the worst-case scenario, as I really think if the Safety Cars worked out a little bit more in our favour I would’ve been fighting with the guys [at the front].
“Especially with the last stint that was quite easy.”
他补充道:“显然,我们从中学到了不少托托ay and maybe what we did wrong yesterday, I can’t go into details, but the problem is we can only show it next year if we come back if it is better or not.”
Despite that disappointment, Verstappen is still on course to win the World title with the 25-year-old 151 points ahead of Perez in the standings with Lewis Hamilton a further 43 points adrift.
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