Horner knows why McLaren lost in Japan: 'They didn't have Verstappen'

14:00, 07 Apr

byNorberto Mujica

Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing's team principal, has assessed Max Verstappen's pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, where according to the Briton, he was able to beat 'faster McLaren cars.'

"I think that it was absolutely inch perfect," Horner sums up his driver's last Q3 flying lap to media present at Suzuka after the Dutchman's win on Sunday.

"I think that if you look at the overlays between him and Lando, you can see that they're absolutely neck and neck."

"There's tiny bits in it. Lando was good in turn six. Max was very strong into Degner 1. In turn 11, Max again was strong there. Lando [Norris] a little bit better in Spoon. But the differentiator at the end of it came down to the last chicane."

'McLaren didn't have Verstappen'

Verstappen was still down on Norris as he passed by the Sector 2 marker, so it was in Sector 3 where the Dutchman secured an unexpected pole position in an inferior machinery, at least compared to that of his McLaren rivals, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Horner knows exactly where his driver did the crucial damage.

"He absolutely nailed the last chicane, and that was just enough. But it was in a car that the theoreticals were behind McLaren as fast as that. Max extracted every ounce of performance, McLaren didn't get that obviously yesterday so that was the difference," concluded Horner.