Christian Horner says Red Bull "could not have asked for a better Saturday" as both drivers worked together to secure a Formula 1 front row lockout in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying. Team orders have been in the spotlight at Red Bull in the last week after Max Verstappen refused to obey them in Brazil to assist Sergio Perez's efforts to secure P2 in the Drivers' Championship. Verstappen's decision to stay in front of Perez means the latter goes level on points with Charles Leclerc into the finale, but Perez crucially managed to get ahead of Leclerc on the grid by just 0.040 seconds, in part thanks to Verstappen. It was this teamwork that Horner was pleased to see in practice.
Horner on Red Bull teamwork
"It was a great qualifying from the Team, our first front row lockout of the year and first since 2018. We are tremendously happy with the performance as it gives us an opportunity to end our most successful season in the best possible way. Max secured the 20th pole position of his career with a stellar last lap. On top of that, he gave Checo the tow in the second sector to help him secure the second grid slot - locking out the front row for the Team. It was. We couldn't have asked for a better Saturday, but there is still a lot to do. Now we must focus on converting this into the best possible result tomorrow, ensuring 2nd place in the Championship for Checo." "Max secured the 20th pole position of his career with a stellar last lap," Horner explained. "On top of that, he gave Checo the tow in the second sector to help him secure the second grid slot, locking out the front row. "We couldn't have asked for a better Saturday but there is still a lot to do, [it's our] first [front row] since [the] 2018 [Mexican Grand Prix]. "Now we must focus on converting this into the best possible result, ensuring second place in the Championship for Checo. "We are tremendously happy with the performance as it gives us an opportunity to end our most successful season in the best possible way."
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