Christian Horner believes it was "a shame" that the fight between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc at Paul Ricard ended prematurely.

"I think the main thing today is that Charles is fine. It was a great battle between the two in that first stint and an incident that looked ugly," the Red Bull boss told .

"We stopped early and tried the undercut, Max effectively had the position on the track and it was a shame we didn't see how things would have unfolded."

"All in all, a quiet win for Max and maximum points, so it's a job well done. We are frustrated that Checo (Perez) didn't get on the podium either, he was unlucky with that virtual safety car."

With Verstappen having stopped before most, it was believed that Red Bull had opted for a two pit-stop strategy. Ferrari did not immediately react, suggesting that Leclerc would only make one stop.

However, Horner commented that Verstappen would probably have made only one pit-stop because he was confident in his tire wear.

"It was a great battle between the two, and at the beginning of the race, we were thinking that two stops seemed more likely with that temperature," Horner added.

"The way Max was able to follow, the tire temperature actually looked under control, the wear looked good, we didn't have as many blisters as the Ferrari... We were feeling strong, so we were aggressive with one stop."

"It could have been fascinating to watch. If Charles had stopped, he would have had a two or three lap lead on his tires, but it would have been a great battle."