05/07/2025 18:30
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has explained how Max
Verstappen managed to deliver what he has described as another
"mighty" lap to land pole position for the British Grand Prix.
Following a difficult Friday of practice for the four-time F1
champion around Silverstone, not for the first time this season,
Red Bull worked overnight to hand Verstappen an RB21 he could fight
with in qualifying. Although in the mix, landing pole did not
appear to be on the cards, and instead the battle was seemingly
between the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and the
Ferrari duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. But with the
final lap of the top-10 shoot-out, Verstappen again produced
another sublime performance to secure the 44th pole of his F1
career. "A wonderful lap from Max," said Horner, speaking to Sky
Sports F1 . "But all credit to the team as well. We worked very
hard on the car. "We bought some new bits here. We've been tuning
and optimising. We gave him a good car for quali, and he delivered
a mighty lap at the end there. "You can hear him on the radio,
knowing that he was up, and he nailed that pole, which is obviously
a very special one." As to the difference in the car from Friday
into Saturday, Horner said: "The engineering team did a great job
overnight. They worked hard on the car, added a bit of performance,
and we've ballasted. "It was tricky conditions with the gusting
weather, but all credit to Milton Keynes [referencing the factory].
They're doing a wonderful job, working hard, and Max delivered, as
he always does, so good performance." As to what can be expected
from the car in race pace, Horner then outlined why Verstappen
conjured pole. "Pretty reasonable," he remarked initially. "We're
running pretty trimmed out on [the] wing, so you can see that we're
quick down the straights. We're achieving our lap time in a
different way to the others. "Now, whether that's good or bad for
tomorrow, who knows? We'll find out"
