Horner after qualifying in Austria: 'We hopefully have better pace in the race'

Published on 01 July 2018 by Julien Lemmen

The drivers of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing will start their team’s home-race from P4 (Max Verstappen) and P7 (Daniel Ricciardo) on the grid.

Team principal Christian Horner, reflects after qualifying: “I think fifth (which later became fourth on the starting grid after a grid penalty for Sebastian Vettel) and seventh is about representative on such a power sensitive circuit. With three long straights and minimal corners we were unable to play to our strengths even with the small power upgrade.”

In Q3 Ricciardo tried to let his teammate past, but Max stayed behind the Australian. Horner explains the situation: “We have a very simple policy here that has operated for the last seven years and that is to alternate who drives out of the garage first from race to race. This is the only way to keep it scrupulously fair between both drivers.This weekend it was Daniel’s turn to drive out of the garage first. In the heat of Qualifying he felt that on a track like this where a tow can sometimes help, he could be at a slight disadvantage going out first. Last weekend it was the reverse and he benefited. Now that both drivers have had time to review what happened they have a rather different view of things than they did in the heat of the moment. This is natural when you want to win and we would not want to take that away from them.”

Lastly, Horner looks forward to the race: “With three DRS zones in the race, hopefully we can have better pace in the race and put on a good show for our home fans.”

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