Christian Horner hails critical Max Verstappen moment: 'Win it or bin it'

Christian Horner Praises Max Verstappen's "Win It or Bin It" Overtake at Imola

Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing's Team Principal, lauded Max Verstappen's audacious first-lap overtake on Oscar Piastri at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, describing it as a pivotal "win it or bin it" moment.

Verstappen, starting from third, experienced a sluggish initial getaway. However, he masterfully positioned his car to the outside and executed a daring dive down the inside of Piastri, seizing the lead.

Why it mattered: This decisive maneuver proved critical. Verstappen found himself in clear air, while Piastri's undercut strategy was hampered by a slow pit stop and subsequent traffic, ultimately compromising his race.

Verstappen completed two pit stops, one under a Virtual Safety Car and another during a full Safety Car period. He utilized fresh tires on the final restart to secure his 65th career victory in Red Bull's 400th Grand Prix start.

Horner reflected on the crucial overtake: "We definitely managed to improve the car and his start, the first corner was win it or bin it with the commitment he had."

He further elaborated on the move: "Oscar was fair and gave him space, but you can see he is coming from a long way back and George is up the inside, but he just commits to the corner, and was given enough space by Oscar. That was the last they saw of him, so it is incredibly decisive, and he is just so good in those situations."

Horner concluded by highlighting Verstappen's racing instinct: "Oscar knows how committed Max is, and he saw a gap; he went for it. And that's just the instinctive racing instinct that Max keeps demonstrating week in, week out."