Last-lap slide cost Max Verstappen pole – Christian Horner

Red Bull

Last-lap slide cost Verstappen pole – Horner

Red Bull driver should have beaten Lance Stroll to top spot in Turkey

Will Gray

Saturday 14 November 2020 19:50

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Max Verstappen lost pole position to Lance Stroll in Saturday’s wet qualifying session for the Turkish Grand Prix because of a slide that cost him vital time on his final flying lap, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has revealed.

Verstappen had led the way for Red Bull in the first two parts of qualifying but ended up failing to better Stroll’s time in the crucial top-10 shoot-out and finished 0.290secs behind the Racing Point driver in second place.

While Verstappen has insisted it was the team's decision to switch from full-wet tyres to intermediates that cost him the third pole of his Formula 1 career, Horner has instead pointed to a vital incident in Q3 as the key differentiator.

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“In that final lap he had a snap and he lost about six tenths of a second at turn seven, to miss out on the pole," confirmed Horner.

“Max had looked supreme in Q1 and Q2. Obviously, it’s really disappointing for him. It’s still a good grid position, but after having been so dominant, it’s disappointing to lose out right at the last moment.”

Verstappen had been forced to follow the Alfa Romeo of Kimi Raikkonen in the final part of the session and Horner believes that prevented the Dutch driver from warming up the intermediate tyres enough to get the grip he needed.

Despite failing to secure the top spot, however, Horner believes the team has shown promising pace ahead of the race and predicts a good performance when the lights go out on Sunday.

Horner added: “[Verstappen] got caught behind Kimi for a couple of laps. When you haven’t got the preparation, the momentum, particularly through the faster corners, it was difficult for him to really generate that temperature.

“Nonetheless, a positive quali. Well done to Lance, and it should make an interesting grid for tomorrow. In these conditions, anything can happen. It’s going to be an interesting start. It could be a great grand prix.”

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