Christian Horner is adamant that Red Bull will be capable of contesting for the win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, despite losing out to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in qualifying. Red Bull's Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen finished the hour in second and third after falling three tenths of a second away from Leclerc's pace. Speaking after qualifying, Horner argued that Red Bull focusing on setting up their cars more for the race could result in them challenging for the win in Baku. "We're totally focused on Sunday, but I think there is always a trade-off that you're going to make between outright one-lap pace," Horner told ViaPlay . "I think Ferrari have had that in the last few races but I think our race pace has tended to be pretty good. "Checo's on that Monaco wave of confidence and even without a tow he did a good lap there, and Max is right up there as well. I still think we can race well from that."
Horner wary of the Azerbaijan GP variables
Despite his optimistic outlook on Red Bull's race pace, Horner added that the performance will count for nothing if they can't negotiate the potential hurdles of the Baku City Circuit. Historically, the fast-paced Azerbaijan Grand Prix has induced plenty of incidents, Safety Cars and red flags, which have generated unexpected winners. Horner added that these unknowns mean the team will have to make the correct strategy calls – along with the improved race pace – to secure victory. "I think Safety Cars are going to be a big factor here," added Horner. "We've seen in the support races and we've seen plenty of action in qualifying there, so I think that's going to play a role. "We just want to make sure we get the strategy right. I think rear tyres are going to be crucial here as well. "Nobody has really done any long runs, so it's a bit of a journey into the unknown, but hopefully we've focused on having a good race car and hopefully we'll deliver that tomorrow."
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