Unlike the sprint, when it had better pace, Red Bull saw Ferrari dominate the Austrian GP. If it weren't for Carlos Sainz's retirement after an engine blew, the Italian team could have easily left Spielberg with a double on Sunday (10). Looking for explanations for the Maranello team's superiority, taurine boss Christian Horner pointed to two elements as key to understanding the race scenario.

"Important points today," began Horner, who saw Max Verstappen add 19 points for 2nd place and fastest lap of the race. "Congratulations to Ferrari, they had the fastest car for most of the race and Max was trying to get back into contention at the end. Our tire degradation was higher during the first stint and Ferrari looked lighter on their tires. They had the pace advantage, which gives you more strategic advantages as well," he justified.

"Our pace at the end of the race, the fastest lap... we didn't perform the way we did yesterday, and that's something we need to understand," he added.

Max Verstappen teve que se contentar om o 2º lugar na Áustria (Foto: Red Bull Content Pool) — Max Verstappen had to settle for 2nd place in Austria (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)

In addition to Ferrari's superiority, Red Bull also had to deal with the retirement of Sergio Pérez. On the very first lap, the Mexican driver was touched by George Russell and eventually - with body damage from the collision - had to leave the race in Austria.

"Losing 'Checo' was immensely disappointing. I don't think Mercedes approves of our cars going on the outside at turn 4. So it was a shame - because you can see that Perez was ahead. There was a lot of damage to the car. We had no chance of scoring with it, so it was important to save mileage," Horner revealed.

The 2022 Formula One season continues in two weeks, July 22-24, at Paul Ricard in the French Grand Prix.