Christian Horner was pleased with the performance from Red Bull Racing in Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday, with Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly both qualifying initially inside the top five.
Verstappen had been quickest in the second segment of Qualifying but was unable to match the pace of the Mercedes AMG Motorsport duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas when it mattered in Q3, meaning the Dutchman will start the sixth Grand Prix of the season from third on the grid.
Gasly had qualified fifth in the second Red Bull but was handed a post-session three-place grid penalty for blocking Romain Grosjean during Q2, meaning he will have a tougher afternoon on his hands from eighth on the grid.
Horner, the Team Principal at Red Bull, feels Verstappen’s third place grid slot is a fantastic starting place for him to be, while Gasly was also impressive on his way to what he thought would be the third row.
“Third and fifth are decent grid positions for tomorrow and it’s our best qualifying of the season to date,” said Horner. “Max was extremely impressive in Q1 and quickest in Q2.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t the cleanest Q3 for us with traffic on his preparation lap. But nonetheless, the second row here on the clean side of the grid is a great place to be starting the Monaco Grand Prix.
“Pierre has had an impressive weekend so far, qualifying a close fifth. This strong performance represents his best ever qualifying result in F1.”
Horner will be amongst those keeping an eye up on the sky on Sunday, with rain a possibility for the race, something he imagines will spice up proceedings should it appear.
“The forecast also looks a little bit variable for tomorrow so that could spice things up,” he concluded.