Horner: Verstappen would have overtaken Perez with the same tactics

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner believes Max Verstappen would have beaten team-mate Sergio Perez at the Miami Grand Prix even if he hadn't chosen the opposite tactic.

The Dutchman, who started the race from ninth place, drove the first stint on the hard compound, and Perez on the medium hard. The Mexican intended to use the softer compound to lead the race and break away, and simulations suggested his tactics should be around three seconds faster than Verstappen's at the end of the race.

But Verstappen lasted an incredible 46 laps on the hard tyres, setting a faster pace than Perez after his pit stop to put the car on hard tyres. The Dutchman chose the yellow-rimmed hard tires for his race-ending pit stop and easily overtook Perez.

Horner believes the story would have been similar even if Max had run on yellow rimmed tires in the first leg, like Perez. "Even if he was on a different tactic, his rhythm would be similar," he said. "After qualifying, he was angry with himself because he made a mistake and couldn't fix it. He was very confident before the race and wanted to do things a little differently.

We talk a lot about tactics, run simulations overnight and then weigh the pros and cons of each choice. Max chose an otherwise slower tactic with his team, and I supported him in this."

According to Horner, Perez was not too disappointed despite losing to his teammate, who started the race eight places behind him. "Things are changing in sports. He was unbeatable a week ago, but I don't think he's too disappointed after this race. He still won 18 points and I don't think anyone could beat Max today.”

Perez's main problem was being too reserved in the first part of the race on medium hard tires when he should have built up a lead. "In the first ten laps he just controlled the pace. He looked after the front right tire. We also saw some graining from the others and Checo drove well and looked after the rubber. But after ten laps he started to ride faster and build up a lead, but in hindsight he could have driven faster in the first stint as the medium hard tire proved to be very solid, which we saw with Alonso who took a long first stint on it .”