It was a solid qualifying session for Oracle Red Bull Racing but one they would be disappointed with considering their recent rich vein of form.
Max Verstappen lines up on the first row just behind Kevin Magnussen, who claimed a shock first pole position after the chaos caused by rain and a red flag that was brought out due to George Russell going into the gravel.
Sergio Pérez’s only attempt in the third qualifying session was a compromised one, with Ferrari’s decision to keep Charles Leclerc on the intermediate compound costing the Mexican valuable lap time, that may have seen him claim at least a second-row start.
Red Bull Team Principal and CEO, Christian Horner was not overly pleased with his team’s performance, but he was quick to congratulate Haas F1 Team and Magnussen on their shock achievement.
“Firstly, well done to Kevin Magnussen and Haas on pole. Conditions were tough, the rain was all around us throughout Q1, Q2 & Q3 but the guys did a good job of navigating their way through to Q3. Unfortunately, a small mistake at turn 8 cost Max a bit of time but nevertheless, being on the front row is very positive for the sprint race.“
Horner also went on to speak about the issues that Pérez encountered on his lap, that saw him behind Leclerc on a considerably slower set of tyres.
“Checo was unlucky, Charles was out on a set of inters and I think Checo was expecting him to come into the pits, but he stayed out. This compromised Checo’s lap but I’m sure he can race well from there tomorrow, so it promises to be a very exciting Grand Prix weekend.”
Red Bull will look to make up ground in tomorrow’s sprint race, with the Brazilian Grand Prix being the third and final sprint weekend of the season.