Amidst Max Verstappen masterclass, Christian Horner credits Red Bull team for turnaround

Red Bull boss Christian Horner made sure he credited the team back in Milton Keynes after Max Verstappen put on a masterclass to secure pole position for the 2025 F1 British GP. The Dutch driver stunned the F1 world during qualifying when his final run saw him leapfrog everyone to secure pole position at Silverstone.

The pole position came as an even bigger surprise when you take into account the fact that Max Verstappen was very disappointed after Friday and had termed the day mediocre. Overnight, though, Red Bull turned the car around as work was done to use a low downforce rear wing.

The low downforce rear wing proved to be a game-changer, as Max Verstappen was much more competitive straightaway in FP3 on Saturday. A pole position still seemed to be a step too far, as teams like McLaren and Ferrari appeared to have it in control.

It was, however, the last lap of qualifying that saw Max Verstappen nail everything, while both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of McLaren and Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari made tiny errors on their final flying lap.

Talking to Sky Sports afterwards, Christian Horner praised not only Max Verstappen but also made sure he credited the Red Bull team and Milton Keynes as well. He said:

"A wonderful lap from Max. But all credit to the team as well. We worked very hard on the car. We bought some new bits here. We've been tuning and optimising. We gave him a good car for quali, and he delivered a mighty lap at the end there. You can hear him on the radio, knowing that he was up, and he nailed that pole, which is obviously a very special one."

He added:

"The engineering team did a great job overnight. They worked hard on the car, added a bit of performance, and we've ballasted. It was tricky conditions with the gusting weather, but all credit to Milton Keynes [referencing the factory]. They're doing a wonderful job, working hard, and Max delivered, as he always does, so good performance."

Christian Horner on Max Verstappen's unique Red Bull setup having an impact on his race pace

Max Verstappen has gone for a very unique setup where his car has a low downforce rear wing at the British Grand Prix. As a result, the car is fast on the straights but comparatively slow in the corners. This could also hurt the long-run pace as well, as tires would be under more stress in a lower downforce setup.

Red Bull's long runs were done on Friday with a different setup, and hence the team is going into the dark to a certain extent. Horner admitted this even though he didn't seem too perturbed about it either way. He said:

"We're running pretty trimmed out on [the] wing, so you can see that we're quick down the straights. We're achieving our lap time in a different way to the others. Now, whether that's good or bad for tomorrow, who knows? We'll find out."

Max Verstappen will be hoping to convert the pole position to a win at Silverstone, as that would certainly boost the morale within the team.