Horner sees hope: "At least it happened today, not tomorrow"

Red Bull Racing had a nightmare of a qualifying session. Sergio Perez was unable to escape from Q2 and Max Verstappen lost power in the final run of Q3. The 2021 World Champion will start from 10th, with Perez starting from 11th. Team boss Christian Horner is pleased it happened on Saturday, rather than Sunday.

Friday practice indicated that Ferrari would be dominating proceedings during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, but it wasn't the case in qualifying. Though it wasn't Red Bull Racing who stole their thunder, instead it was Mercedes. Horner believes that Verstappen could've had a shot at P1 without all of the issues. The Brit explains.

"Verstappen felt a lot more comfortable with the balance of the car and I think we were on for a shot at pole. A lock-up into turn 2 on the first run which put us on the back foot immediately. Still, we felt confident we could have a crack. Unfortunately there a power unit issue on his out lap. We tried to reset sensors to clear it but it wasn't to be. 10th and 11th it will be a busy race tomorrow," Horner told Sky Sports.

The grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix is well set out. Both Red Bull cars will be trying to hunt their way through the field, whilst Ferrari attacks Mercedes. Horner suggests Verstappen has the pace. He's happy that the problem occurred during qualifying and not during the race. "At least it's happened today and not tomorrow."