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Horner understands Verstappen frustration: He had two purple sectors

Max Verstappen will start Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix from third on the grid behind Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman wasn't all that pleased with how the end of qualifying played out, and Christian Horner knows why.

Christian Horner knows why Max Verstappen was frustrated after qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as his chance at pole position went up in smoke after Yuki Tsunoda crashed late in Q3. The Dutchman will start third on the grid, however it could have been a different story given how his final lap was shaping up. However it was all for nothing as Tsunoda's crash brought out the red flags, meaning Max wasn't able to continue his lap. "At least at this circuit you can overtake," Horner told Sky Sports. "Max's frustration, I think he knew he went purple in Sector 1 and Sector 2, and there was a better lap in there. "It looked like he'd pick up a tow from Alonso at the end of the lap there as well, but we'll never know now. The good thing compared to Monaco, where there's absolutely no hope of overtaking, is that here you can overtake, we've seen that. "It's about managing the tyres, the grip level. We're just going to have react to that challenge tomorrow." After a poor showing in practice on Friday, Mercedes responded on Saturday. Lewis Hamilton will start second, though teammate Valtteri Bottas had to settle for 10th on the grid. "It looks like Mercedes have changed their setup quite a lot," Horner added. "How that's gonna work on the longer runs is a bit of an unknown. "We just got to get our heads down and try to get a good start and get stuck into the race." As for Sunday's race, Horner feels confident about Red Bull's chances given they start just behind Hamilton. "Charles [Leclerc] has done a good job, he's on pole,"' Horner added. "We're behind Lewis, our championship contender. We're in good shape. "Strategy is going to be important around here. It's difficult to believe we'll get through the race without a safety car given the amount of red flags we've had."

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