Why Red Bull's USGP win was a "landmark moment"

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner described breaking Mercedes' dominance at the United States Grand Prix as a "landmark moment" for the team.

Mercedes had started on pole for each race at the Circuit of the Americas since the start of the turbo-hybrid era in 2014.

With just six points separating title rivals Max Verstappen and Hamilton heading into the weekend, a margin that now stands at 12 after the Dutchman's victory, Horner believes ending Mercedes' streak was pivotal for Red Bull.

“For the team, to get the pole on Saturday was a big moment particularly with the domination that Mercedes have had," explained Horner.

"We gave that away into turn one and then we went aggressive on the strategy to bank track position.

“We were always going to be exposed at the end of the race and Max was just able to hang it out and it was all about rear tyres.

"I think the traction out of turn 11 was always going to be crucial and he was able to keep the tyres in a decent pace to have just enough left at the end there.”

Asked if converting pole into a win felt like a big swing in Red Bull's favour in the championship race, Horner was careful not to place too much significance on a single result.

“They’re all important but this one is a big one because this has been such a stronghold of Lewis and Mercedes so to get the pole was a landmark moment for us and then to convert it into a win even not leading on the first lap," added Horner.

“A great team performance because on Friday P1 we were on the back foot and it looked like it was going to be a tough weekend but the whole team worked very hard to manage to turn it around.”

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