Horner thanks Red Bull for late nights after Verstappen's fourth title
After Max Verstappen put an end to the championship battle by securing his fourth F1 drivers' title, Red Bull team boss Chriastian Horner has labelled the Dutch driver as simply "phenmonenal".
Red Bull struggled for pace in the three practice sessions, but Max Verstappen looked a lot more comfortable in his RB20 in qualifying, managing to secure a fifth spot on the grid for Saturday's race.
The Dutch driver had an average start to hang on to P5, but he managed to pick off Alpine driver Pierre Gasly in the early stages of the 50-lap race. After the second round of pit stops, he found himself on the last spot of the rostrum, but he was then overtaken by the fast-charging Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.
Despite dropping off the podium, Verstappen did what he needed to do to see off the challenge of his last remaining title rival, Lando Norris to clinch his fourth F1 world championship title.
His team-mate Sergio Perez started from P16 on the grid, opting for the hard compound for his first stint. With the majority of the field starting on the mediums and pitting early because of the much higher tyre degradation, the Mexican found himself in P2.
However, he fell back when he completed his first tyre change, but managed to climb through the midfield to finish in the last point-scoring position.
Commenting on Verstappen's fourth F1 drivers' title, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said that the Dutchman has impressed him by how he worked together with the engineers to try to find a remedy for the RB20's issues.
"This marks the culmination of an epic campaign and a fantastic win for Max. Not just today but throughout an uncompromising year and at times without the necessary tools at his disposal. He has inspired in the cockpit but out of it also. The way he has conducted himself and the way he has worked with the engineers and wider team has been phenomenal.
"Together with 2021, this was one of the toughest years the Team have experienced. But Max has once again elevated himself to another level of exceptionalism.
"He’s won more than double the races of any other driver, mounting a formidable campaign and at times having to overcome insurmountable margins. On the days when we didn’t deliver a win or when he had everything thrown at him, he has still delivered points. He has been extraordinary.
"Behind the scenes there was a huge effort to help bring this championship over the line. It is something to celebrate here at track but equally back at the factory.
After a string of dominant performances early on in the season, Red Bull started to struggle for pace through the summer races. Horner has hailed the Milton Keynes-based outfit for the late nights that were necesserary to turn things around.
"I am incredibly grateful for all the work and late nights that went into this success and everyone back in Milton Keynes can be proud of their hand in this championship.
"Ultimately though, this win belongs to Max. Congratulations on number four Max, you deserve every moment of it!"
