Horner brands Verstappen's pole position lap as "tremendous performance"

On the back of a suprise pole position from reigning champion Max Verstappen, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner claims that the Dutchman put in a "tremendous performance" to secure the first starting spot on the grid for today's British Grand Prix.

Red Bull endured a shock start to the British Grand Prix weekend. The Milton Keynes-based outfit brought an updated floor to Silverstone, but the team looked unable to find the right balance for its RB21.

However, reigning champion Max Verstappen started Saturday in a much better shape, displaying heavily improved pace compared to the opening day of the weekend.

The Dutch driver then topped the first segment of qualifying and put in a sensational final flying lap to beat his nearest rivals by a tenth of a second.

His team-mate Yuki Tsunoda struggled for pace on Friday, and his weekend was also hindered by the sporting rule that forced him to sit out FP1. The Japanese driver managed to raise his game come qualifying, but it was still not enough for anything better than a P12 on the grid for tomorrow's British Grand Prix.

“It’s always special to be at Silverstone and what a lap! Max was locked in, the whole Team were and I have to give a special thanks to them. We brought a few upgrades here, fine-tuned them over the past 24 hours and then Max comes and delivers the best lap possible at a track that is all about aerodynamics.

"It was a tremendous performance. Yuki equally put in a fantastic performance, but I unfortunately got unlucky. There were some power issues at the start of his lap which compromised him somewhat.

"We will need to look into it, but he certainly has found something in the car. There is plenty to look forward to tomorrow," concluded Horner.