Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was dejected after a disappointing 2022 F1 Hungarian GP qualifying session for the team. While Sergio Perez was knocked out in Q2, reigning world champion Max Verstappen could only pattern a P10 after his RB18 suffered mechanical troubles in Q3.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 post-qualifying, Horner reflected upon his team’s performance, saying:
“It was very unfortunate. We lost Checo [Sergio Perez] in Q2, he got in a bit of traffic at Turn 2 and then, actually, Max [Verstappen] felt a lot more comfortable with the balance of the car today and I think we were in with a shot of the pole.”
Hey further said:
“A lock up on the first run into Turn 2 immediately put us on the back foot but we still felt confident we could have a crack at it but then unfortunately a power-related issue on his [Verstappen] out lap He was obviously trying to reset sensors and so on to cure it but unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.”
The 48-year-old Briton, however, was magnanimous in his praise for pole-sitter George Russell of Mercedes. Expecting a tough race tomorrow, he said:
“No representative time in Q3 for Max and 10th and 11th on the grid, so it is going to be a busy race tomorrow, but congrats to George Russell on his first pole, that was a pretty tidy lap.”
It now remains to be seen how a P10-P11 start in tomorrow’s race fares for the team-driver combo that is leading their respective championship standings at the moment.
Red Bull terms Ferrari ‘a very well-respected competitor’ for 2022 season, in contrast to 2021 rivals Mercedes
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen feels there is a sense of ‘respect’ when it comes to his team’s rivalry with Ferrari this season. His comments appear to be in stark contrast to the Red Bull-Mercedes rivalry of 2021, which reached its tipping point multiple times throughout last season.
After we found good pace today, not being able to push for pole is very disappointing
There’s a challenge ahead now but we’ll keep pushing to move up again tomorrow
#KeepPushing
After we found good pace today, not being able to push for pole is very disappointing 
There’s a challenge ahead now but we’ll keep pushing to move up again tomorrow 
#KeepPushing https://t.co/gf9T1KiQqG
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 ahead of the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP weekend, Verstappen said:
“First of all, Charles [Leclerc], I know very well, he’s a nice guy, we are similar age, I think we’re only three weeks apart. And I think also we are fighting a very well-respected competitor in terms of Ferrari, the way they go about, the way we are fighting.”
He continued:
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“When they win a race, we can go to them and say well done, and when we win a race, they can say well done and I really respect that… We are hard competitors on the track, and we will always try to beat each other, which I think is very normal, but outside of it, you can have a good time as well, and that’s what I really enjoy about this year.”
While the Red Bull-Ferrari rivalry has appeared to be amicable so far this season, experts predict that things are bound to change once the championship reaches its final stages.
Did you miss our previous article...
https://formulaone.news/red-bull/road-to-race-going-the-distance-in-a-porsche-914
