Max Verstappen took the lead at the start of the final qualifying Q3 of the 2022 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix with a lap of 1:19.073, the best of the weekend so far, just after Charles Leclerc made a he spun on his first quick try.
The Monegasque rallied with a lap of 1m18.750s on his second attempt to displace the Dutchman from first place , and the defending world champion was left unable to respond after suffering a problem with his car.
Verstappen reported over the radio that he had lost power, which was initially thought to be due to a faulty Honda power unit in his RB18, but Red Bull boss Christian Horner later shed light on what had happened.
“It wasn’t really (lack of) power. In the end it was the DRS, which didn’t open up,” the Englishman told Sky Sports . “Obviously we have to get the car back to understand what has caused the problem, because it was reopened on the back straight, just as a check on returning to the pits.
Despite the problem that prevented Verstappen from making a last attempt to go for pole position, the head of the energy drinks team does not think they had the pace to improve the mark set by Leclerc.
“I don’t think we had enough today to beat that spin from Charles. A great lap from him under pressure at the end and I’m happy to start from the front row anyway,” said the Briton.
Looking ahead to what may happen on Sunday at the race, the Red Bull boss is prepared for a very close test with Ferrari: “Charles has a new set of soft tires for tomorrow, which is strategically very interesting, but with these temperatures, everything is going to depend on the grade and the management of the tyres. So it’s going to be a fascinating race.”
“This morning [Ferrari] did a long run with both of their cars because they were worried overnight (Friday), so they made setup changes, and it didn’t seem that worrying,” he insisted. “So I think, again, we’re very, very even, I think it’s going to be a very, very close race tomorrow.”
Asked if he was worried about having a new technical problem with the car in the middle of a season where Red Bull has been struggling with reliability, Horner replied: “These things tend to happen. We saw Ferrari change the chassis ( by Carlos Sainz ) last night due to a problem with the fuel system. Unfortunately, it hit us in the wrong place. The last moment you want is on the last lap of Q3.”
“As a team we work hard, we’re trying to understand what the problem is, it can be as simple as a piece of rubber has got stuck, but it’s a shame that we don’t have the right to respond, because I don’t think we would have beaten Charles today, I think. that we would not have been closer than the times suggest,” he concluded.
