“Their straight line speed is under control”– Christian Horner has good news for Red Bull despite losing pole to Mercedes in Qatar GP quali

Tanish Chachra | 20/11/2021
"We're back to where we were in Austin": Red Bull boss Christian Horner admits outcome of the Qatar GP was a 'huge moment' in the Championship fight

Christian Horner reveals that Mercedes data shows the straight-line speed is now comparable to Red Bull, giving a good chance for the race.

Mercedes had empathically conquered the pole for the Qatar GP race after Lewis Hamilton gave an incredible flying lap. Max Verstappen was around four of a tenth second behind the reigning world champion.

Whilst Verstappen explained how he is losing against Mercedes. The Red Bull team principal’s update might bright the Dutchman up. According to Horner, Mercedes straight-line speed, which caused wreckage over Red Bull’s dreams, is now under control.

“I think the load test has done its job, because their straight line speed is under control,” Horner wryly explained, talking to Sky Sports F1. “So suddenly, we’re line on line. We haven’t seen that for about four or five races.”

“So, as I said before, this is all about not so much this circuit, but it’s very much about Jeddah and Abu Dhabi where there’s a massive premium on straight line speed.”

Also read: New revelation keeps Red Bull in deep waters against Mercedes ahead of race in Qatar

Christian Horner knows where Lewis Hamilton is gaining

AHorner was asked then why Verstappen lost against Hamilton in qualifying with such a considerable margin. He replied that Hamilton was overperforming in the middle circuit.

“I think their straight line speed has come down a bit,” he said. “I think that it looks very similar to our straight-line speed now, which is good to see.”

“Lewis made all his time in Turns 6 and 7. Particularly on that last lap, he had an amazing sector through that sequence of the two slower corners. So, from what we seen on the straight line speed, it looks normal. So, just a very strong lap by Lewis.”

Also read: Damon Hill sides with Mercedes in battle of words between Red Bull and Mercedes over cheating allegations

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Christian Horner Mercedes Red Bull

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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