How did Verstappen excel in Austria? Red Bull: We don't know!

Red Bull Christian Horner admits the team are somewhat in the dark as to how Max Verstappen was able to produce his stunning race-winning pace at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Verstappen ran with fresher tyres in the later stages of a race which looked to have been ruined at the start as he dropped from second on the grid to eighth.

The Dutchman made up three places in quick time, but taking down Mercedes and Ferrari looked a tall order at the Red Bull Ring, where greater power is rewarded.

But Verstappen excelled, passing Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas and Charles Leclerc to secure back-to-back home-race wins for Red Bull, sending his fans wild and baffling his team.

"In the second half of the race, we were really on fire," Horner said. "The car was incredibly quick. The reality is that we don't fully understand why.

"Obviously the updates we have been bringing to the car over the last couple of races have started to come together and work very well, but this race was won the hard way.

"We had to go and pass three of the four main opposition and Max did just that."

Dr Helmut Marko was on typically bullish form after the race in Spielberg, saying that his target to win five races in 2019 remained intact.

In his traditional role of firefighter, Horner distanced himself from aiming so high.

"We take things one race at a time," he said. "We have achieved a race win with Honda, which is a great moment for them.

"I think they have had one win in the previous 27 years, so we will now try to build on that.

"We will keep getting performance to the car and keep pushing, but the first target is very much achieved."

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