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Horner: 'As long as Verstappen and Hamilton get through the first corner'
Max Verstappen is not starting a race from pole position for a change. His 2021 championship rival Lewis Hamilton was ahead of him by a particularly narrow margin during qualifying for the Hungary GP. Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner is holding his heart for the start.
So says the Briton to Viaplay. The team boss begins his say with Verstappen's qualifying, in which he responds with satisfaction: "We're still on the front row, so it's great to be disappointed with second place."
According to Horner, Verstappen went very slightly wrong at turn 13, the penultimate corner. That could just have been the three thousandths of a second. "Max was up on his lap on the second run, and I think that he just had a snap on the exit of 13, the penultimate corner, and that cost him vital time, and it was enough to miss out on the pole, but congrats to Mercedes and Lewis, it was a strong lap at the end there."
Horner fears for start Hamilton and Verstappen
Indeed, that was the margin by which Hamilton managed to grab his first pole position of the year. Hamilton has a feel for Hungary. Indeed, it is his ninth pole at the Hungaroring. The 2021 champions, Verstappen and Hamilton, will start Sunday's race side by side. And from the start it is a long stretch to the first corner, longer than 600 metres there is possibility of a slipstream.
When Horner is asked if that could become an advantage for Verstappen, the team boss says: "I mean, I think so long as they come through the first two turns, then we'll have an exciting race. But with those two, you know, you know that there's a lot of history between the two of them. It's going to be a grandstand start, that's for sure."
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