Verstappen was leading by some 23 seconds when he came in for soft tyres on the penultimate lap in a bid to take the bonus point from teammate Sergio Perez, a move that could have backfired badly had anything gone wrong.

As it turned out, the Red Bull pit crew performed impeccably and Verstappen returned to the track with a three-second advantage over the chasing Ferraris.

The double world champion bagged the bonus with his fifth win in a row that sent him 81 points clear of Perez at the top and also maintained Red Bull's run of nine out of nine for the season.

"He was pushing us about that pit stop," Horner told Sky Sports television of the conversation with Verstappen. "You could tell he wanted that soft set of tyres.

"It was like 'OK, no risk no fun'. That was what Dietrich always said and the mechanics have been on such great form in the pits today it was a very low-risk thing to do."

Sunday's race at Spielberg's Red Bull Ring was the first since the death of Mateschitz last October.

"He was our leader, founder, he created all of this," said Horner. "He was Red Bull and despite him not being here in presence, you feel his spirit here.

"He would have enjoyed that one."