Christian Horner Rips Into McLaren’s ‘Baffling’ British GP Tyre Decisions
In a turn of events that left many scratching their heads, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has openly criticized McLaren’s choice of tyres during the final stint of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix. As the race neared its climax, McLaren's decision to switch to Soft tyres instead of Mediums proved to be costly.
Missed Opportunities: McLaren’s Race-Leading Gamble
McLaren’s Lando Norris had managed to snatch the race lead, maintaining a slender two-second advantage over Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton. However, as the track surface began to dry, Mercedes orchestrated an undercut maneuver, compelling McLaren to react.
Rather than opting for new Medium tyres, McLaren mirrored Hamilton’s strategy, selecting used Soft tyres. This choice quickly became detrimental as the Soft compound succumbed to high degradation, ultimately allowing Max Verstappen, running on Hard tyres, to overtake Norris, demoting him to third place.
Even McLaren team boss Andrea Stella admitted in hindsight that the pit wall’s decision to mirror Mercedes and opt for Softs was a mistake. He cited that the choice was swayed heavily by the anticipation of tyre performance rather than sticking to their initially preferred Medium compound.
Horner’s Scathing Review
Horner’s critique was both blunt and pointed. He remarked that numerous drivers had struggled with tyre wear when using the red-walled Soft tyres in the opening stint, making McLaren's choice all the more perplexing. When asked about Red Bull’s contrasting strategy to equip Verstappen’s RB20 with Hard tyres, Horner explained the rationale behind their decision.
“We saw that the Soft tyre was rubbish in the first stint with the drivers that had it, and the front opened up very quickly,” recounted Horner. “The Hard tyre was more robust, and we felt was better for us. So we almost didn’t care what the others put on.”
Horner emphasized that they had gathered invaluable data early in the race from Sergio Perez, affirming the Hard compound’s capability. This insight provided Red Bull with the confidence to deviate from the pack and go with Hards.
The Unseen Advantage
What made McLaren's decision even more baffling was that they were the only team with a new set of Medium tyres available. As Horner noted, the Mediums would have been the ideal choice considering the track conditions.
“The Hard tyre at the end of the race was very strong, particularly in the second sector, the high-speed sector. Max was massively quicker than the cars ahead,” said Horner. The result was evident—Verstappen’s rapid pace in the closing laps validated Red Bull's strategic choices.
Red Bull’s Redemption
The British Grand Prix illustrated a stark contrast in team strategies. In the previous Austrian GP, Verstappen had openly criticized Red Bull’s decisions, but the tables turned at Silverstone. With the array of strategic calls—from the timing of the switch to Intermediates and then back to slicks, to the final stint on Hard tyres—everything fell into place for Red Bull.
Verstappen commended his team’s decision-making prowess: “We made the right calls every time. Then also at the end the call from the team to be on the Hard tyre instead of the Soft was definitely helping me out. That’s why I think we also finished second today.”
For both Red Bull and McLaren, the British GP was a masterclass in strategy—one that saw Red Bull rise to the occasion while McLaren faltered. As the championship battle heats up, one thing is clear: every decision, every tyre change, every call from the pit wall can make or break a race. For McLaren, this race will likely be dissected and scrutinized as a painful lesson in the unforgiving world of Formula 1.