Horner to be shocked if McLaren don't take pole: "They're properly quick"
Red Bull Content Pool
F1 News
Christian Horner says he "can't see anybody else" getting pole ahead of McLaren at the Chinese Grand Prix, underlining that they are the early favourites in the Formula 1 2025 season.
Lando Norris was five-tenths clear of anyone else in the only free practice session of the sprint weekend in Shanghai, backing up his impressive victory at the opening race of the season at the Australian Grand Prix, showing that the British team are ahead of the competition. However, Horner is optimistic about the battle behind McLaren for Red Bull Racing.
"It's going to be interesting, I think that this new surface is very grippy. You can see the times are a lot quicker than last year. McLaren look strong. They look properly strong at this circuit, certainly over a single lap. I think Ferrari, Mercedes, and ourselves are all in that group, but I think that the McLarens have got a few-tenths on us at the moment. We'll see what changes we can make and hopefully get a little closer," Horner said to Sky Sports after FP1.
Ree Bull struggling to keep in touch with McLaren
"Max [Verstappen] was 1.3 seconds up by the time he aborted the lap he was on, so that would put him three, four-tenths off the McLaren fastest time. They're they're properly quick, and I can't see anybody else getting the pole other than them today. But hopefully, if we can get on the second row, then the race is all going to be about deg with these long corners and the front tyres taking a pounding round here," Horner continued.
Verstappen finished the first free practice session in 16th, aborting a fast lap on the soft tyres before he crossed the line. Liam Lawson did set a fast lap on the soft tyre, but did not get beyond 18th place. The Red Bull team boss was asked about the difference between his two drivers.
!I think just experience. Obviously, it’s Liam's first time here, feeling his way in. It's a tall order for him on a sprint weekend, but he's got that information now. He's done short runs, long runs, and now it's all about low fuel for the qualifying coming up," Horner concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Tim Kraaij
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