Horner: We haven’t won in Australia for 10 years

Red Bull Racing are satisfied with the results of the Australian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen took another victory and Sergio Perez finished fifth after starting from the pit lane…

Christian Horner, team leader: “The race turned out to be difficult and consisted of three parts. The first start wasn’t in our favour, but on the restart Max was able to hold onto his position, with Lewis battling for the lead and then confidently controlling the situation.

Although the marshals always act in the interest of safety and the safety of the riders is paramount, we were still surprised by the restart at the end of the race. Luckily we didn’t lose anything because of him, the car was fast and Max was in top form.

Max’s victory is a credit to him and the team, who worked hard on track and in the base for the overall result. Sergio did a great job too, putting the best lap of the race behind him to finish in fifth place. From the pit lane he was able to bounce back onto the track, where overtaking is difficult.

All in all, we are very pleased with our performance and delighted to have won our 350th race on a track that has not been won in 10 years.”

Max Verstappen (1st): “I didn’t start very well and acted cautiously in the first round – I had something to lose. Before the restart the car was going fast, which allowed me to create a decent lead.

Maybe stopping the race with red flags so many times wasn’t worth it. Fortunately, no one was hurt, we won – this is the main thing.

I am happy to have won the Australian Grand Prix for the first time, and the team has not won here for a long time – for us this is an important result. Sergio also managed to earn back. The race was chaotic, but the fans certainly enjoyed it.”

Sergio Perez (5e): “Overall a good result. Yesterday I lost confidence in the car for a while, but we made a lot of changes overnight and it worked.

I got off to a good start, gained three or four positions and then ended up in a group of cars with DRS. It wasn’t easy to recoup – when everyone switched to Hard, the tires barely wore out. If I had been a bit more aggressive at the start of the race I might have finished higher, but fifth place and the best lap in this situation suits me well.

Overall, this race has given me more confidence for the upcoming stage in Baku in a few weeks. I look forward.”