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Red Bull: We would have beaten Ferrari too

Red Bull reckons it would have still won the Malaysian Grand Prix even if Ferrari had started at the front.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB13

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB13

Sutton Images

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB13
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Race winner Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium
Race winner Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB13
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB13 and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz F1 W08
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz F1 W08  and Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB13 battle for position

Max Verstappen delivered a dominant victory in Sepang which was aided in part by front row starter Kimi Raikkonen suffering an engine problem on the grid and Sebastian Vettel starting from the back after similar woes in qualifying.

But despite Ferrari being taken out of the picture on reliability grounds, Red Bull boss Christian Horner thinks his car would not have been beaten even if its Maranello's rivals had started up front.

"I think we had the pace on all the cars," said Horner. "I think Sebastian was quick at the end of the race because he ran his race back to front.

"But I didn't see any pace in clear air that they had on the supersoft or soft tyre that was quicker than what we were capable of doing today. All weekend the car has been in very good shape."

Verstappen's drive to a win that was not reliant on incidents shows the big progress that Red Bull has made this season, and Horner admitted the speed was perhaps more than even he had been expecting.

"We were quicker than anticipated to be honest with you," he said. "I think we felt we would be in good shape.

"The car was very good on its tyres on Friday, very quick in the high speed. You can see we were running slightly less downforce than the others, we don't have the T-wing here for example, and I think that we have found a very good set-up. Plus the drivers have delivered their bit absolutely as well."

Better than Spain

Malaysia was Verstappen's second victory in F1, and marks his return to the top step of the podium for the first time since he won on his first outing for Red Bull in Spain last year.

Horner has no doubts that the nature of the Malaysia win – including a brilliant overtaking move on Lewis Hamilton – will have made this success feel better than his maiden triumph.

"Spain was a fairy tale because the first time he jumped in the car he won the race," said Horner. "But it was quite a strategic race that.

"He has endured so much bad luck this year that I think in motorsport, you have good days and bad days and he has had quite a few bad days this year. It makes you appreciate the good days even more.

"So I think the actual experience he has been through this year will make the champagne taste even sweeter here."

Asked if the Malaysia success had lifted hopes of more wins, Horner said: "We have got five races to go and for us, as I have said before, each race is like a Cup Final and we will just go for it."

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