Christian Horner believes that Red Bull Racing are getting closer to the pace this season but believes they are struggling during the latter stages of qualifying when their rivals are able to turn up their engine for better performance.
The team are often close to the pace in the opening two phases of qualifying, as proven by Max Verstappen being inside the top two during the early stages of qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, but when it mattered in Q3, both Scuderia Ferrari and the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team have the advantage.
Horner wants their engine suppliers Renault to address these discrepancies, and knows that if they want to challenge up front for the remainder of the season, something needs to be done with regards to their engine modes in qualifying.
“The car is getting stronger and stronger under race conditions, and again it was a very competitive grand prix for us in Hungary,” said Horner on Motorsport.com.
“So if we can just find that little bit more [engine] performance. You saw in qualifying that Max [Verstappen] was second-quickest in Q1 and Q2, but you get to the latter part of qualifying and you need that little bit extra to go with our major competitors.
“On Saturday we are going to struggle. I can imagine us being fifth and sixth on the grid on Saturday and quicker than that on Sunday.”
