Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner has spoken on what he has described as a ‘remarkable final lap’ from Max Verstappen at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez to claim his sixth pole position of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
Red Bull had initially been trailing Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team and Scuderia Ferrari across the weekend but late changes to the setup of the RB18 would see the Constructors Champions claw their way back into the fight.
Verstappen had trailed both Mercedes drivers in Qualifying One and Two but was able to set down a marker in Qualifying Three by claiming provisional pole, after his first run in Q3 would see him more than a tenth of a second ahead of George Russell.
The two-time world champion would then turn provisional pole into his sixth pole position of the season as he would improve on his original time by just under two-tenths of a second. Both Mercedes cars would push Verstappen close, but the improvement to his time would prove to be too much for both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
An electrical issue for Sergio Perez throughout qualifying would deny the home crowd favourite any chance of contending for pole position as the Mexican driver was without any reference to his lap times and also without any information on his brake balance.
Perez had commented on how he was proud to have not allowed the electrical issues to get the better of him and avoid an early exit from his home qualifying session. Despite the issues, Perez would come home fourth fastest in qualifying, three and a half tenths behind the fastest time set by Max Verstappen.
On his team’s qualifying performance in Mexico City, Horner was eager to praise Verstappen after his ‘remarkable final lap’.
“After an incredibly tight three qualifying sessions, it was a remarkable final lap from Max. To be the only car to dip into the 1:17’s and achieve pole position by over 0.3 of a second is another fantastic drive. second and fourth on the grid were covered by just under half a tenth and that sets us up for a thrilling race tomorrow.
With both cars starting Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix inside the top four, Horner is anticipating an exciting start to the race and also counting on Sergio Perez’s home crowd to play their part in a positive result for the team.
“It’s a long run down to turn 1, providing plenty of opportunity for the drivers. The crowd will no doubt also play a factor, particularly for Checo, they have been fantastic today and with his start on the 2nd row, we look forward to seeing what tomorrow brings.”
