Horner on what cost Verstappen pole position in Monaco GP qualifying

07:14, 25 May

Updated: 09:33, 25 May

bySienna Ionta

Christian Horner was disappointed after the qualification in Monaco. The Red Bull Racing team principal saw where his team fell short to truly compete for the top spots. On Viaplay, the Brit reflects on the qualification and looks ahead to the race and opportunities for Max Verstappen.

A difficult qualifying for Verstappen in Monaco saw him extracted the maximum to secure P5 — later promoted to P4 following Hamilton’s penalty. His teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, didn't make it through to Q3 as he only managed to obtain P12.

Verstappen lost grip as the lap progressed

Max Verstappen eventually conceded seven tenths to polesitter Lando Norris. In the first part of the lap, the world champion could still fairly keep up with Norris's time. But as he progressed through the lap, he lost more grip and thus time.

‘’The first sector looked okay, the second sector became a bit more difficult, and the grip didn't come to him. I don't think we were in the ‘window’ with the tire, which is very sensitive. If you fall outside of it, you lose bits of lap time.’’

Horner also looks ahead to tomorrow's race and secretly hopes for a small surprise by outsmarting the competition. The mandatory two-stopper plays a significant role in this. ‘’It's completely different than usual, with the mandatory two-stopper. So if the guys in front of us are in line in the pits, we're certain we can overtake them. We'll see how it will go tomorrow.’’

Earlier tonight, Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko also reacted to Red Bull Racing's disappointing performance in the qualification. Both men were significantly upset about the achieved result and clearly had hoped for more, but also see that this was the maximum possible.