Max Verstappen’s stunning start and Red Bull’s flawless execution earned a vital Imola victory, as Horner praised the team’s resilience and focus.
Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, praised his team’s cohesion following Max Verstappen’s unexpected victory at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Verstappen dominated the race ahead of the McLarens, taking his second win and Red Bull’s second win of the 2025 season. Yuki Tsunoda climbed from his pit lane start to secure the final available point in 10th place.
Horner also revealed that the team’s mechanics had been working until the early hours of Sunday morning rebuilding Tsunoda’s car, which was destroyed in a terrible crash during qualifying.
We are a very strong team, a very strong group. There is always a lot of external noise, but never internal. The entire engineering team in Milton Keynes did an excellent job. We brought a few new parts this weekend. That is why Enrico Balbo, head of aero, collected the trophy today for the hard work done behind the scenes.
The strategy was good, the pit stops were good. The guys stayed up until 2 a.m. last night preparing Yuki’s car, so collectively we had a very good race this weekend.
It was great to celebrate that by winning this big race today, especially for our 400th Grand Prix.
And Horner does not deny it, everything was decided by an absolutely brilliant start from Max Verstappen.
The first corner was make or break. Oscar was fair and gave him space, but Max came from far back and launched into the corner to take his chance.
And that was the last time they saw him. An incredibly decisive move. He is so good in these situations.
Oscar is trying to defend his lead in the championship, and Max saw a gap and went for it. That is the instinctive driver we see week after week.
Full focus on the drivers’ championship and Verstappen
Horner confirmed that Red Bull would focus on the drivers’ championship, with Verstappen only 22 points behind Piastri. The constructors’ title against McLaren clearly seems out of reach.
I have always said that this championship is a marathon.
We are at the seventh race and we have won two. Everything depends on our level at the end. We have to stay in touch during this phase.
We are getting back into form. The challenge will be completely different next weekend, and there will be a regulation change the weekend after.
We are entirely focused on the drivers’ championship. We have an undisputed number one in our team, and that is what we are focused on.
Both cars are scoring points and the more Yuki progresses in the standings, the more important a role he can play. You saw him play a minor role today, working hard to keep Oscar behind him for a lap or two.
But we have to be realistic, for us, all our attention is on the drivers’ championship because the constructors’ title looks set to go to McLaren.
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