Red Bull's Horner issues Ferrari warning: 'We'll give them a hard time'
Leclerc left it late to surge to the top of the timesheets, displacing Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz by over 0.4s.
Reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen wasn’t entirely comfortable slotting into second briefly before being out-qualified by teammate Sergio Perez for the second race in a row.
Red Bull haven’t taken pole position in the last three races but they’ve taken wins each time, with their straight-line speed advantage and good strategy choices making the difference against Ferrari.
Horner remains confident Red Bull can win the race despite missing out on pole position again.
“I thought over a single lap Ferrari had the edge but I think we’ve shown so far this year on Sundays we’ve had a good and competitive race car, at a track where you can overtake at.
“We can give them a hard time tomorrow.”
Red Bull enjoyed a 9kph straight-line speed advantage over Ferrari in qualifying, which could prove to be crucial in deciding the outcome of Sunday’s race.
“Well it’s such a long straight here and the DRS effect is pretty powerful but of course, you’ve got to be close enough in the middle sector so it will be all about going with them, convert the start,” Horner added.
“A great performance by both the cars, Checo carrying that confidence from Monaco at a track he’s always excelled at here and without the benefit of any tow, a good lap for him.
“We’ve focused more on tomorrow than today, and we’re second and third. We’ve seen this year some great racing between ourselves and Ferrari, and I think this year’s cars have demonstrated you can follow a bit closer and you can overtake so we will be hoping to make use of that tomorrow.”
Verstappen positive about Red Bull’s long-run pace
Verstappen’s struggles over one lap continued as he was beaten by his teammate once again.
The Dutchman has just one pole to his name in 2022 but he’s taken four victories.
Verstappen remains confident that Red Bull will have better pace in the race relative to what they showed in Saturday qualifying.
"I guess we will find out tomorrow, but I think overall we seem to lack a tiny bit over one lap but clearly in the long run our cars should be quite good," Verstappen added.
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