Horner shares his verdict on Lawson's third Q1 elimination in a row

Horner responds to Lawson's disappointing performance

While Verstappen once again finished towards the front in qualifying and finished inside the Top 3 in the Sprint, Lawson had another hard day at the Shanghai International Circuit, as similarly to Sprint Qualifying, he finished last once again Q1. "Well, it's been a tough day in the office for him today. So we'll have a good look at it and go through it. And obviously, try and give him the best car we can for tomorrow," Horner told Sky Sports.

When the team principal was asked about the fact that Sergio Perez's contract was bought out to put Lawson alongside Verstappen, Horner answered: "As I say we'll have a good look at it and we'll do what we can tomorrow."

Horner looks ahead to Sunday

On the other hand, Horner was happy with Verstappen's session, mentioning he had a great Sector 1 as well. "It's pretty tight at the front there and I think we tried a few things that hopefully help in the race tomorrow. Tenth and a half or so off the pole. We were purple in the first sector but unfortunately we didn't quite have enough in the tyre at the end of the lap. So yes, encouraging."

Ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix, the Red Bull team principal thinks the key factor will be tyre management and the strategy team. "We saw in the sprint race earlier, different graining, different cars working in different ways. I don't think pole position is essential for this race. It's all going to be about strategy, and it's going to be about that front left tyre," he underlined.

This article was written in collaboration with Sandy van Wijngaarden

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