Max Verstappen’s victory in Mexico is a “massive day” in the championship, according to Red Bull team manager Christian Horner.

Max Verstappen’s victory in Mexico, according to Christian Horner, is a “massive day” for Red Bull in their pursuit of their first championship since 2013.

With four races remaining, Verstappen leads Lewis Hamilton by 19 points, but it was the nature of the win that delighted Horner the most.

“It’s been a massive day. A fantastic drive by Max,” Horner said after the race, in which Verstappen came home 16 seconds ahead of Hamilton.

Verstappen’s race was made by a lightning start that saw him jump both Mercedes into Turn 1.

“He nailed the start, he found himself a bit of space, which I was surprised that they gave him the room,” added Horner.

“I have to say Valtteri [Bottas] was very fair. I thought Max had missed his braking because he was so late on the brakes at Turn 1, but he made it stick and, from there, really controlled the race. It was a very straightforward race for him.

“They’d [Mercedes] covered the inside but then, obviously, there was a knock with the McLaren. I think it was Daniel [Ricciardo] that tipped Valtteri and then Checo [Perez] had to cut the grass. But Max timed it perfectly, he got the tow and made it work. And then was able to control the race beautifully.”

Verstappen had practiced the braking for Turn 1 on his approach to the grid, according to Horer.

“On the reconnaissance lap, he went out and braked right there,” he said.

“So he’d almost rehearsed it in his mind what he was going to do.”

Championship glory getting closer

For the first time since 2013, Red Bull is leading both championships, and Horner says the team is trying not to get ahead of itself.

“There’s still a long way to go,” Horner said.

“There’s still a lot of points available and we’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing. Keep attacking, keep pushing and maximise every weekend.”

Red Bull celebrated their victory in the paddock at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and Horner said it’s a testimony to their work that they’re only one point behind Mercedes at this moment.

“You can see what it means to the whole team and we’ve worked so hard to get into this position to be one point behind in the Constructors’, [with] four [races] to go, to be 19 [points] ahead in the Drivers’ [Championship] now,” he commented.

To prevent Verstappen from taking the fastest lap point, Bottas pitted twice near the finish of the race, and Horner felt the uncertainty around that moment brought an extra layer of excitement.

“There was a bit of messing around over the fastest lap at the end,” he said, “which added to the stress!”

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