Horner criticises INDECISIVE F1 rival after brutal strategy blunder

Christian Horner believes that Mercedes hampered their own United States Grand Prix by deciding to copy Red Bull's strategy too late.

Following a closely contested first stint, Max Verstappen still had plenty of work on track following the first round of pitstops.

A delayed decision to move towards a two-stop strategy cost Lewis Hamilton time, as he was left on track with old medium tyres, and was subsequently undercut by Verstappen.

Ultimately, Hamilton was unable to make up for the five seconds lost due to pitting multiple laps after Verstappen and was left to rue a host of errors throughout the race – which included poorly executed pitstops, a crucial lockup, and the late strategy call.

READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Verstappen setup quirk which allows Red Bull to make car even faster

Horner: Mercedes found themselves in no man’s land

“I think Mercedes found themselves in no man's land today,” Horner told Sky Sports F1 after the race. “They sort of attempted a one [stop], aborted, and then took the better tyre, the medium tyre, for the final stint. But thankfully we had just enough to hold them off.

“The debate was do we run the hard [tyre] in the middle stint or the medium. We knew going up against Lando that they'd committed to the two hards.

“So, we knew going medium-medium was crucial for Max to make use of that to get the pass done and get the track position and then run our fastest race to the end of the race.”

The main takeaway from the weekend for Red Bull will be that Mercedes’ upgrades may help them become serious contenders for wins at each of the last four races.

With Red Bull refusing to upgrade their car after the summer break, Mercedes will be worried that any ground they have made up could be lost as soon as the Austrian outfit reveal their 2024 challenger, regardless of their own strategy woes.

READ MORE: Unstoppable Verstappen is a MAJOR PROBLEM for F1

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