Horner: "We knew it would be very tight in qualifying"

Christian Horner says that Red Bull were aware how close qualifying for the Sakhir Grand Prix would be and admits qualifying was frustrating, although he is encouraged by the performance of Max Verstappen, who will start Sunday's race in third.

Horner told Sky Sports: “We knew it would be very tight in qualifying and I think Max got everything out of the car, so to lose out on pole by the same margin that Alex missed out on Q3 is encouraging and frustrating at the same time.

"It’s still third nonetheless and starting from the second row on the clean side of the grid is not a bad place to be. Max also starts on a different tyre compared to both Mercedes and hopefully a different strategy for tomorrow will provide opportunities in the race."

The fortunes of Alex Albon were not so positive, as the Thai driver was knocked out in Q2 and will start the race down in P12, another blow to his hopes of retaining his Red Bull seat in 2021.

Horner added: “It’s frustrating not to have Alex in Q3 and the small margins around such a short circuit mean that the smallest mistake can cost you a lot. The Team will help him understand what happened today and I’m sure he will be looking to make good progress through the field tomorrow.

"With overtaking possible, we aim for both cars to have a strong race.”