Red Bull team principal Christian Horner praised Max Verstappen’s pole position at the Monaco GP as the Dutchman’s “best qualifying lap of his career“.
Verstappen snatched pole from Fernando Alonso on the final run of the session, edging out the Aston Martin by a tenth in a storming lap.
The session was mixed for the team despite the pole position after Sergio Perez crashed out in Q1, leaving him dead last for the race in Monte Carlo.
Horner told Sky Sports F1 that while the mistake from Perez made it a day of mixed emotions, Verstappen’s performance was among the best he had seen.
“They’re sort of somewhere in the middle. I’m elated for Max. Probably the best qualifying lap of his career. And Checo unfortunately a mistake, too, early in Q1,” he said.
“I can only think maybe he was distracted by the pit light on the right-hand side because he just misjudged that first turn and the circuit was only going to get faster and faster.
“So he’ll be kicking himself for that.”
Alonso threat
Despite the pole for Verstappen, Horner added that he remained wary of the pace of Alonso and Aston Martin, with the Spaniard firmly set on challenging for victory around the unpredictable streets of Monaco.
“I mean, there’s a great respect between Fernando and Max, but they’re very similar characters. They come from the same cloth. They’re both hard racers,” he said.
“They both want to win this race, and I’m sure Fernando sees a chance. He knows how valuable that start is tomorrow. So that first 500 meters is going to be what dictates this Grand Prix.”
