Q&A with Christian Horner after Monaco GP

It was obviously a very frustrating afternoon last Sunday in Monaco. A few days after the race, what’s the mood like in the camp?

CH: Well, immediately after the race everybody felt obviously totally deflated. Having been so close to a Monaco victory, to have lost it in a pit lane miscommunication was absolutely gutting. Inevitably there’s been a huge amount of analysis into what happened, why it happened and also into preventative measures to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. But, what’s done is done and now our focus firmly moves to the next grand prix in Montreal, which of course was the scene of Daniel’s first victory two years ago.

What did that analysis reveal and how does the team move on from the events of Sunday?

CH: With all such things there is never simply one thing that stands out as a root cause. It was the culmination of a number factors that came into play during the race – Max’s stop, an aborted stop, a change of tyre compound... all of those things contributed to a scenario where ultimately the tyres that were believed to be available were not within the garage, but were in an area that was quite difficult to access and that, of course, led to the tyres not being available to Daniel at the point at which he stopped.

Yes, it was hugely frustrating, but afterwards it was never going to be a finger-pointing exercise. As I said after the race, we win and we lose together as a team. It’s a question of understanding what went wrong, working as a team to solve the issue and then taking steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

In competitive sport you are always pushing right to the edge and that’s what happened in Monaco. Now we simply need to make sure that robust procedures are put in place to cover any given scenario.

How is Daniel?

CH: Understandably, he was very emotional after the race and totally gutted to have put in such a great performance but not to have achieved the win. You can’t turn the clock back, but you can address what’s coming. He’s third in the championship, he’s heading to a venue that holds some fantastic memories for him and hopefully we can again give him a competitive car there.

It wasn’t an easy weekend for Max either. His learning curve continues.

CH: Well, I’d say that Max had a great first half of the race, during which he was making very good progress. In fact, at one stage, just before he crashed, it looked like a top-six finish was achievable, which around the streets of Monaco from a pit lane start would have been a fantastic recovery.

Unfortunately, a small mistake at Turn 3 bit him pretty hard.

So far he has experienced two very different emotions on the Monday after his first two grands prix with the team – one of elation and one of depression. He has apologised to the team and as you say, it’s a learning curve. I’m sure he’ll take many lessons away from Monaco and he will apply them in future.

The result on Sunday may have been far from what the team wanted, but there were plenty of positives to take away from the weekend wouldn’t you say?

CH: Absolutely. First of all, Daniel’s performance was immense throughout the weekend. It was a truly sensational pole position lap. In the race, he had very strong pace in the wet and he had strong pace in the dry. Even after the pit stop he was pushing incredibly hard to find a way past Lewis and he never gave up.

Secondly, the team is pumped that we have a competitive car; that we put it on pole position, that on Sunday we had a car we could really race with. Really, we should have beaten Mercedes fair and square, so I think an awful lot of heart can be taken from that, an awful lot of confidence.

Finally, the upgraded power unit has delivered exactly what Renault said it would and that’s certainly a positive as we head towards more power-related circuits. We’re relishing the prospect of the next few races.

How much of a step forward is the power unit upgrade? What does it give the team going forward?

CH: At Monte Carlo it gave us exactly what was promised, which was about 0.2s. That certainly helped to achieve pole position, so hats off to everyone in Viry, they are doing a great job at the moment. The TAG Heuer power unit is performing better and better.

So you must be pleased that we’re taking that relationship forward into 2017 and ’18?

CH: A lot of restructuring and hard work has gone on at Viry over the last six to nine months and we’re just starting to see that the organisational changes there are starting to bear fruits, so it makes sense to extend a relationship that is working well for a further two seasons.

Comparing where expectations were at the start of the season and where we are now, can you put into words how they have changed – from looking to fight Williams to now battling at the front once again?

CH: In pre-season we thought that Toro Rosso would be ahead of us, and certainly Williams, Ferrari and Mercedes. So to be sitting here after six races with three podiums – a third, a second, a win, and what should have really been two wins – is more than anybody could have dreamt of at the start of the year. I think it bodes well for the rest of the season. We’re nine points behind Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship and there’s still a long way to go.

And further positive steps to come in Canada. As you say, we’re returning to the scene of Daniel’s maiden win and in Montreal Max will get a first race weekend taste of the new power unit?

CH: Yes, Max will experience the new engine in Montreal. It’s a great racetrack, it always produces great grands prix – Daniel’s win is an obvious highlight – and we look forward to going there and trying to build on the momentum we’ve established over the past couple of races.