Christian Horner: That first corner was in it or bin it | Post Race Interview Imola GP 2025

Hello everyone, welcome to our channel, we are going to listen to Christian Horner, let's listen to him. But you can see, you know, he's coming from a way back and George is up the inside. But he just commits to the corner and was given enough space by Oscar and that was the last they saw of him. So, incredibly decisive and he's just so good in those situations. Are you surprised that Oscar didn't fight back a bit harder? You know, he's trying to defend a championship lead. He knows how committed Max is and he saw a gap, he went for it. And that's just the instinctive racer that Max keeps demonstrating week in, week out. Yeah, because Cashew was caught sleeping there. It was a copy a little bit of Jeddah, except that he didn't close the door. He left enough space because he was caught sleeping. So, you come out looking very strong, Max, you, the unit, the engineer. Because even when you don't have the right cards in your hand, you end up winning. Do you think that strength, that energy will be the downfall of McLaren this year? Well, look, as a team we're very strong, as a unit we're very strong. There's always a lot of noise on the outside but never on the inside. And, you know, the whole engineering team back in Milton Keynes have done a great job. We brought a few new bits here this weekend. That's why Enrico went to get the trophy today for the hard work that's going on behind the scenes. The strategy were good, the pit stops were good. You know, the guys were up until, you know, gone two o'clock last night repairing Yuki's car. So, just as a unit, I think we've executed a really good race this weekend. And, you know, particularly on our 400th, it was a great way to celebrate that by getting this big win today. Even after lap one, Max's pace seemed really good. And he mentioned that on Friday he was overtaken by the McLarens. What do you think of that turnaround from Friday and race pace to today? Because he had really strong pace out front. I think we managed to get the car into a window. I think the parts that we bought worked. And, yeah, we managed to get a setup. And once you're in the window, then you can control your tyre temperatures. Once you've got that clean air at the front. And there was no point in the race where he looked really under threat. You know, the restarts that, you know, at all points during the race, he looked to have pace in hand. And that first stint was so long on the medium. That was what was particularly impressive. And I'm reassuring that we were able to have better deck than the McLarens in that first stint. Let's talk about Yuki Tsunoda. Just how impressed have you been with him this weekend? Obviously, yesterday was a horrible crash. It was great to see him come out of that unscathed. But to then bring it back and put it in the points. At one point, play the ultimate team play by holding up a couple of drivers for Max as well. So, yeah, what did you say to him? Have you seen him yet? I haven't seen him yet, but I thought he drove a very good race today. To get that point, you know, it was hard fought. Coming from the pit lane, you know, the strategy worked well for him. He drove a smart race. He was decisive in his moves. And it was a good payback for the mechanics, you know, today. You can see, you know, he's very, very brave around, you know, some of the fast corners here. Managed to get up the inside of Nico there. And that was his move into the points. And you say that Oscar has a championship to worry about a little bit. Surely, Max has got to be thinking about the championship. Results like this, results like Jeddah, at some point, surely you've got to think that you've got a chance at maybe going for the championship. I think I've always said this championship's a marathon. I mean, we're in, like, what, race seven? We've managed to win two of them now. And it's all about where you are at the end of it. You've got to make sure you stay in touch through this phase. And, you know, we're finding form. And, you know, this is sort of a triple header now. Completely different challenge next weekend. Then a regulation change the weekend after. So, you know, the races start coming at you thick and fast now. Well, there's talk about championship. We've seen that McLaren has focused on the constructors' championship a lot and damaging the chances of a driver's championship. In your situation, you have Max fighting for the championship. And the other car is a little bit further back in the points. Is the focus more on the driver's championship? Yeah, for sure. I mean, our full focus is on the driver's championship. And, you know, obviously both points, both cars are scoring. And the more that Yuki works his way up the order, the bigger role he can play. I mean, you saw him play a small role today working hard to keep Oscar behind him for a crucial lap or so. But, yeah, for us, all focus is on that driver's championship. We've got a very clear number one in our team. And that's where, obviously, the main focus is. Are you surprised that McLaren didn't swap their drivers to launch a bit more of an attack on Max? What would you have done in that position? It's very, very hard because, you know, when you've got two drivers racing each other, you just want to deal with it as even-handedly as you can. And, you know, to do that is then sort of favouring one driver over the other. So, you know, they allow the drivers to race. And, you know, that's good to see and has to be commended. But, of course, sometimes that's perhaps against the interests of the team because the drivers have their own interests. Before we let you go, just a quick word on Monaco. I mean, these races are coming in thick and fast. How will the car fare there? And will the tech regulation change in Spain that we're hearing about with the front wing, will that affect you in any way? Well, I think Monaco, as we know, is a completely different challenge. We've got two mandatory pit stops in the race. I'm hearing there's a bit of weather around as well for the weekend. So that can always play a factor. And then, of course, Barcelona, we're not expecting any major shake-up. But, you know, for sure it will have an effect. OK, well, listen, well done today. Make the most of it. We're going racing again soon. But relax tonight. You thoroughly deserve it. 400th Grand Prix start and a win for the team. OK, let's head over to... Yeah, on Friday, the Red Bull was struggling. On Saturday, the Red Bull was struggling a lot. As you know, they bring the upgrade here, the side pot upgrades. And they just deserve to win this race. As I was saying in yesterday's interview, if you have watched both Max Verstappen and Lennon Norris' interview, I just was saying for Max Verstappen, if he overtakes Piastri at the first turn, I think he will be a favourite to win at Imola, at the Italian Grand Prix. And I think that happened. It was a very clear overtake. It was a very perfect overtake. And also, Piastri just raced very fairly. He didn't just slap the door like Max Verstappen does. In every single race. But I think before the regulation change at Barcelona, Red Bull gave signals that maybe they will make a comeback. As Christian Horner said, their main focus is for the drivers' championship. It's not for the constructors' championship. But as they said, Lennon Norris did an amazing job today. He started at the last position, but finished at least at the points. He took a point. And also, I just want to mention that this race was a little bit against Max Verstappen with that safety car. Because when Esteban Ocon's car failed there, they just brought a virtual safety car. But at the same position, at the same place, when Kimi Antonelli had an issue, they immediately took out the safety car. And I think they did this thing to give a chance to McLaren to win the race. But let's say that it just didn't work out. Verstappen perfectly restarted the race. Immediately after the turn, the second one who was behind him just went at the middle of the corner. And Verstappen perfectly took that advantage and just nailed the race winner. Also, he had today four consecutive wins on this track. Just I want to say one more time congratulations to Max Verstappen for today his, let's say, perfect performance on the Italian Grand Prix. Just don't forget to like the video, comment it and subscribe to the channel.