A positive result for Red Bull at Silverstone
Missing the podium by a narrow margin, Max Verstappen finishes the British Grand Prix in 4th place, just ahead of his teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, who started from the last row and delivered an attacking race.
In the absence of a victory, Red Bull drivers know how to settle for places of honor. After an endless series of retirements, Max Verstappen secured a 4th place at Silverstone, even though a podium was within reach.
But the Dutchman and his team played it safe at the end of the race by making a stop to change worn tires that were threatening to delaminate, as experienced by the two Ferrari drivers: « It’s a positive day, I’m happy to finish the race and get some new points. We got a bit lucky with Seb [Vettel]’s puncture at the end and I secured myself because I knew I had enough margin. The front left wasn’t in good shape and after seeing what happened to the Ferrari, we chose safety. If I had seen Kimi come into the pits at the end, I might have stayed on track to try to gain a place, but we made the stop as a precaution to ensure we finished the race,” explains Verstappen.
The start of the race for the Red Bull driver saw a wheel-to-wheel battle with Vettel’s Ferrari: « At the beginning, I knew I was a bit slower than Seb, so I did my best to stay ahead and have fun, it was the only thing I could do and, fortunately, he couldn’t get past me on the track. After that little battle, my race became a bit lonely. »
“What a scrap between these two!” #F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/gZOEDuPjWV
— Formula 1 (@F1) 17 juillet 2017
Daniel Ricciardo’s race was different from that of his teammate. Starting from the back row alongside Fernando Alonso, the Australian carved his way through the Grand Prix, making numerous overtakes to finally finish one place behind his teammate: “I hope they showed a lot of my race on television. I felt good throughout the race, I was overtaking cars and I hope the fans enjoyed it,” the excited Australian declared as he stepped out of his car.
« It was very fun overtaking everyone and I gave it my all. I caught up to Hülkenberg towards the end, and then Seb [Vettel] had his problem which put me back in fifth place, so “danke” Sebastian. I was really happy with the way I performed in my last races on Sundays. It’s great to finish fifth starting from the back today, I really couldn’t ask for more. Last week, I was chased and this week, I’m the hunter, I love the battle and today, I felt like I could really enjoy it. I would give this race ten out of ten in terms of fun. » concluded Ricciardo.
