Christian Horner was encouraged by the pace showed by both Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo during Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, with both drivers within four-tenths of a second of the pole position time around a Circuit Gilles Villeneuve thought of as a power track.
Verstappen will start the race from third on the grid while Ricciardo is sixth and Horner, team principal of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, was pleased to see both showing good competitiveness during the session, that was ultimately topped by Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
“A really exciting Qualifying today, with nothing much between the times set, which is particularly encouraging for us at this type of circuit,” said Horner.
“It was an excellent performance from Max to qualify in P3, less than two-tenths from pole position, topping a strong showing in the practice sessions here in Montreal. Having been quickest during Q2, Daniel will start tomorrow’s grand prix in P6 but in Qualifying there was not much to separate him from those further up the grid.”
Horner revealed the team opted to start the race on the Hypersoft Pirelli tyre, thanks to advancing into the top ten shootout using that tyre, rather than the Ultrasoft that both Ferrari and Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport will use, and it will be interesting to see how this gamble plays out on race day.
“We have elected to start on a different strategy to our immediate competitors, starting tomorrow’s race on Hypersoft tyres, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out tomorrow,” said Horner.
