Horner's mouth falls open with surprise: "The pace that Verstappen had..."

Christian Horner is delighted with Max Verstappen's qualifying performance in Belgium. On the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, no one could match the speed of the reigning world champion. Unfortunately for Red Bull Racing, Sergio Perez failed to secure the first starting spot.

"Unbelievable. The pace he [Verstappen] had... the lap time was so good that he didn't need to do the second run. So, we saved the engine mileage. It was a phenomenal performance. Q2, also on a set of used tyres, the lap time he set. He is on fire this weekend," Horner praised his Dutch pupil.

Verstappen will have to find a way forward from fifteenth spot on Sunday. Verstappen and Red Bull will not settle for anything less than a podium finish. At the same time, Perez will have to try to overtake Sainz on the tarmac.

Red Bull looking forward to race

"We're in for a fantastic race tomorrow with Max and Charles fighting their way through the field. Checo is perfectly poised to take on Carlos. There will be a lot to keen on top of tomorrow," concludes the team boss of the Milton Keynes-based stable.