Horner: “My foot was tapping more than Leclerc’s helmet!”

Christian Horner joked his foot was tapping more than Charles Leclerc’s helmet as the Red Bull boss struggled to keep his nerve in the closing stages of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

With Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez earning the team’s first one-two since 2016, Red Bull enjoyed the perfect weekend but it was not without its nervy moments.

Verstappen may have led from start to finish but team boss Christian Horner conceded that from a position like that, you can only lose.

“My foot was tapping more than Charles Leclerc’s helmet!” Horner joked in reference to Ferrari’s ‘porpoising’ when asked on the F1 Nation podcast if he was the calmest man in Formula 1.

“The problem with a race like that is with the last 10, 15 laps, you can only lose.

“Then there were reports of weather to come and you can see it’s easy to put a wheel on a wet kerb and it just seems to take forever those last 10, 15 laps, but it’s always a relief to see that chequered flag.”

A sign of Red Bull’s dominance, especially in comparison to last season, was Verstappen lapping Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen was apathetic to the situation while his father Jos admitted he enjoyed seeing it – but Horner insisted Mercedes would still be a factor in the championship.

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“Lewis had a horrible weekend but he hasn’t forgotten how to drive,” Horner said. “Five races ago they were fighting for a World Championship.

“They will get that car sorted out and he can still be a factor in this championship. We don’t underestimate any of our opponents and all we can do is focus on ourselves and try to ensure we maximise the opportunities and make sure we take them.”

Horner was then asked for his opinion on the next race, the Miami Grand Prix, and said he had never known such interest in a race and demand for tickets.

“Miami will be super-cool,” he said. “I’ve never known a race to have so much demand.

“We are totally over-subscribed, I think there is a waiting list of hundreds of thousands of people trying to get in.

“It’s an interesting track, a simple layout but they tend to sometimes be the trickier ones. It’s got a huge straight, so I think the racing will be good there and it will be great to see the cars in Miami.”