Honda happy with both Red Bull drivers: 'Although Max didn't do a perfect lap'

Red Bull Racing seems to be equal to or faster than Mercedes this year and the Imola track suits the car well. Unfortunately, the team couldn't get pole position, but Honda is happy with the performance of the RBR drivers.

During qualifying, it became clear that the differences on the track were very small and that Q3 would be an exciting fight for pole position. It was also very important not to go past the limit, as several times were deleted for violating track limits.

In the end, it was Lewis Hamilton who came out on top, narrowly followed by Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. "For Red Bull Racing Honda, Sergio did a great job to secure his first starting position from the front row. Max didn't drive a perfect lap, but his time was still very close to the first two," Toyoharu Tanabe told us in a Tweet on the Twitter channel of Honda.

At the sister team of AlphaTauri, the results were actually very far apart. "Pierre Gasly drove very well to secure the fifth starting position twice in a row. The three drivers, therefore, have a good chance of making the podium tomorrow."

For Yuki Tsunoda, that will be a lot harder, as the rookie crashed right away in Q1 and could kiss his qualifying goodbye. "His crash means he will start at the back of the field, but his performance earlier in the weekend wasn't bad. We expect him to drive an aggressive race and fight to a higher place," concluded Honda's top executive.