Christian Horner: Aston Martin's tyre choice let Max Verstappen 'off the hook'

Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, has expressed his belief that Max Verstappen was fortunate to escape Aston Martin's grasp during the Monaco Grand Prix, stating that the rival team's decision let them off the hook.

Verstappen secured his fourth victory of the season, bringing him closer to his third F1 World Championship title, while his teammate, Sergio Perez, endured a disappointing weekend without scoring any points.

The turning point of the race came when Verstappen found himself on 53-lap old Medium tyres as rain began to fall over the principality. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso closed in on the race leader, trailing just 10 seconds behind.

However, when the Aston Martin made a pit stop, they opted for Medium tyres instead of Intermediates, despite the rain intensifying between Casino Square and Portier.

In the meantime, Verstappen had an incident and made contact with the wall in that very section, making it evident that Intermediates were now the preferable tyre choice. As a result, Alonso was forced to pit again, forfeiting any potential advantage gained from Verstappen's error.

Horner revealed during a media interview, "We had a comfortable margin with the nine or 10 seconds that Max had when he pitted. Even if he was five or six seconds slower, we still would have maintained a three or four-second lead."

Expressing his surprise at Aston Martin's tyre choice, Horner added, "That decision totally let us off the hook. From that point, it was just a matter of Max bringing the car to the pits and us turning it around."

Verstappen, unlike most drivers who started on Mediums, waited patiently for the switch to rain tyres. Horner emphasized that there was no risk in keeping him out and waiting for the change, stating, "We had a significant advantage, so we didn't need to rush the decision and get it wrong.

"We had the time and the conditions were not severe enough to necessitate an immediate change. This allowed us to lose a few seconds on the in-lap and still emerge ahead of Fernando."

Ultimately, Aston Martin's decision to equip Medium tyres instead of Intermediates enabled Verstappen to maintain his lead, and when Horner saw Alonso leaving the pits on slicks, he knew the race was effectively sealed.