Sergio Perez would have been a "dying fly," according to Christian Horner, if Red Bull had chosen a one-stop strategy for the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
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Because of his two-stop strategy, which cost him track position to the Ferrari at the Yas Marina Circuit, Perez was unable to catch Charles Leclerc in the race for second place in the championship. On lap 15, after spotting Leclerc approaching, Perez changed from his starting medium tyres to hard ones and was the first of the leaders to enter the pits. It handed Leclerc a six-lap tyre delta for the second stint, enabling him to quickly close the distance with his fresher rubber at a rate of almost half a second per lap. When Red Bull decided to pit again on lap 33, Ferrari instructed Leclerc to box opposite Perez and kept the Monegasque driver outside.
At the finish line, Perez trailed Leclerc by 1.3 seconds because he was unable to make up the lost time on his fresher tyres. Leclerc finishes three points ahead of Perez, who had been tied for second going into the championship’s last race in Abu Dhabi. When asked why they chose to pit twice, Horner told Motorsport.com that Perez “took a bit more out of the front-right tyre,” which “began to open up,” making it tough to finish the race without stopping again.
The front was dead, he stated on the radio, and we could see Ferrari preparing for an undercut, according to Horner. “Checo’s strategic location at that time was a challenge because it would have required a lengthy one-stop. Leclerc was then able to take something like a six or seven lap gap. “At the end of the shift, we had the option of either dying like a fly or trying to attack. “We decided to go on the offence. I believe he would have arrived in another lap.”
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Red Bull chose the two-stop strategy because of the early timing of the first pit stop, which Horner claimed was “all about the front-right tyre” having issues. This left Perez “exposed massively” toward the end of the stint. So, as I said, we decided to adopt an offensive approach rather than perish in the end and become a sitting duck. There were a few backmarkers who weren’t helpful, but perhaps if he had been able to go by Hamilton, [it would have worked]. But it was quite close. Red Bull finished the season with 17 race wins from 22 races and a record of 759 points in the constructors’ championship, despite not taking first and second place in the drivers’ championship.
The effort was praised by Horner as “unbelievable.” According to Horner, “We’ve shattered all of our own records as well as Formula 1 records.” The season had its ups and downs, of course, but taken as a whole, the team had a fantastic year,” the author said.
