Horner Bullish now slump has stopped

MAX HAS THE PACE TO OVERTAKE MCLARENS

- Daniel Moxon at Imola

McLAREN put Oscar Piastri into a “world of pain” as the championship leader lost ground to both his main title rivals at Imola.

That was the view of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner after watching his star driver Max Verstappen clinch his second win of the year.

The Dutchman produced a stellar overtake on pole-sitter Piastri at the start and had the pace to pull away from the McLarens as Red Bull’s upgrades worked wonders.

Piastri was hampered by a two-stop strategy as the Australian struggled in traffic while Verstappen had the freedom of the Italian countryside.

Horner said: “They obviously pulled the trigger on the two-stop, but... because of the length of the pit lane here being 27 seconds, it put him into a world of pain, traffic-wise.”