Asked by Autosport to share his thoughts on the recently ended Chinese Grand Prix – where his team recorded his first 1-2 finish in career last season, also in rainy conditions – Christian Horner admitted his frustration over the poor weather conditions. According to the young British manager, his drivers would have had a walk in the part on Sunday if it weren't for the rain.
“A far from straightforward race in very tricky conditions, and sixth and eighth is still very valuable points. It is just obviously frustrating, that with a straightforward dry race today I don't think the opposition would have seen us,” said Horner.
Prior to the Saturday qualifying, it was McLaren Mercedes who dominated the action at the Shanghai circuit, while Vettel was urging his team to develop the F-duct system – used by the Woking based outfit – in order to have a shot at challenging McLaren on the long-straight circuits such as the one in China.
However, all of that changed starting Saturday afternoon, when the two Red Bulls emerged in the top two spots in qualifying, outclassing the McLarens by almost half of second.
“I think in conditions like in China it is not just about strategy, there is a degree of luck involved. And when you start seventh and eighth you have less to lose and more to gain. We head back to Europe have gone to four very different venues, had had two 1-2 starts and one 1-3 start. So I think there is an awful lot of positives,” added an optimistic Horner, whose team is 3rd overall in the manufacturers' standings after 2 grands prix.
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