Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes Aston Martin “let us off the hook” by not initially switching Fernando Alonso to Intermediate tyres in Monaco.
Alonso came in to the pits as rain fell in Monaco but Aston Martin kept him on slick tyres, believing the shower would be brief, but conditions swiftly worsened.
Race leader Max Verstappen crept around that lap before coming on for Intermediates, followed in by Alonso, who also stopped for the green-banded tyre.
Alonso and Aston Martin dismissed suggestions that not immediately switching to Intermediates cost them a shot at victory but Horner was relieved by the outcome.
“I was surprised they took the medium tyre and that totally got us off the hook and then it was a question of getting it to the pits and having us turn the car around,” said Horner.
“I think in 20:20 hindsight we should have probably pitted one lap earlier to go on to the inters.
“But thereafter, [Verstappen] was very mature when the rain came. He took it steady and brought in the tyres and really closed out the race.”
Verstappen explained the tricky phase of the race when the rain began to fall.
“We had really worn tyres so to go through there was not really enjoyable, I clipped a few barriers, especially on my in-lap I think,” he said.
“It was very, very difficult. But even on the intermediates after that, it was still very slippery through the second sector. It was quite wet there. The hard bit is that you have a good lead, but of course you don’t want to risk too much, but you don’t want to drive too slow because then you have no temperature in your tires.
“So yeah, just trying to find a bit the middle ground initially was a bit tough, but after a few laps I settled in and felt quite comfortable.”
