Horner after sprintrace at Silverstone: 'Fantastic to be starting on pole'

Published on 17 July 2021 by Julien Lemmen

Red Bull Racing hadn’t been on pole at Silverstone since 2011, but Max Verstappen made sure they are on pole this year, by winning the very first sprint qualifying race.

Team principal Christian Horner reflects after Saturday's sprint qualifying: “It’s fantastic to be starting on pole for the British Grand Prix, which was achieved in a different way with Max winning the first ever sprint qualifying race. This marks our first pole at Silverstone since 2011 and breaks the Mercedes nine-year pole position streak. The race start was crucial for us and Max got a great launch off the line. We knew Lewis was particularly strong in Sector 1 so staying ahead down the main straight was particularly important for us, which he did and maintained the lead until the flag."

Horner continues: “You can see there was very little between us and Mercedes today, we were quicker in the corners where they were mighty in a straight line. The temperatures look set to sore and tomorrow’s Grand Prix won’t be a repeat in terms of tyre wear. The higher fuel loads at the start of the race mean the cornering speeds will be slightly lower, giving the tyres an easier workout in the corners at the beginning of the race, so it will be interesting to see how that affects things. It’s fantastic to be starting on pole position and I hope the fans enjoyed the action and a different format of racing today.”

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