Red Bull played it safe: "Just in case Lewis pulled something out the bag"

Christian Horner has identified potential trouble for Max Verstappen during the Spanish Grand Prix, and none of the reasons are other drivers and teams. Verstappen has been sublime in Barcelona and comfortably took pole position without the need to cross the line on his final attempt. 

Verstappen miles ahead 

The Dutchman qualified on pole position by half a second. On Friday, Verstappen's long run times were far quicker than any other driver. In an interview with Sky Sports, Horner was asked whether he has any competition. 

"Yes. There's the weather, reliability, the start and strategy. There are so many things. How these tyres behave with the fast two corners [for example]. This weekend plays to the strengths of the car, and he's made great use of that," Horner said. 

Going into the last stint of Q3, Lewis Hamilton looked likely to be Verstappen's closest challenger. The track evolution from earlier in the session gave Red Bull a bit of a debate about the strategy. 

"Unbelievable from him [Verstappen] today. And, you know, he just seemed to be able to go with the circuit, and his pace was incredible. We were debating, do we do that last run or not? We went out just to cover, just in case Lewis pulled something out the bag. And then we aborted the lap as soon as we could see he was down on Max's time. So, you know, great performance from him," Horner said in a conversation with Viaplay.