Horner reveals how Red Bull got 'lucky' despite strong China showing

Christian Horner believes Red Bull’s qualifying performance was ‘lucky’ despite securing a front row lock out.

Red Bull claimed their 100th pole position and a sprint race victory with Max Verstappen today, after a chaotic sprint qualifying.

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Verstappen had to fight for a sprint victory by overtaking champions Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, but once he did he built an astonishing 13 second gap.

Qualifying for the Grand Prix was more straightforward, claiming pole position by 0.322 seconds from his teammate.

Horner reflects on 'lucky' Chinese GP

Not only did Red Bull team boss Christian Horner praise Verstappen, but also Sergio Perez for helping the team achieve a front row lock out.

A strong weekend could not have come at a better time for the Mexican, with driver market speculation at an all time high.

In a recent interview, Helmut Marko revealed that Red Bull had approached out of contract Carlos Sainz over seat talks.

However, Christian Horner seems satisfied with Perez's performance, after speaking to Sky Sports F1 post-qualifying.

"It's been a really good Saturday for us. Getting that Sprint race victory this morning and then the pole position with Checo on the front row as well,” Horner said.

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"In Q1, the track was evolving quickly and we got a bit lucky to make sure we were in the cut [with Perez].

"Checo is doing a great job. He's come into this season in a new frame of mind.

"He's relaxed, he's driving well and his confidence is growing. He's not focusing on his team-mate and it's a different approach."

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