Verstappen seemed to be the favorite for qualifying for the British Grand Prix after showing himself to be far superior in Free Practice 3 on Saturday in the dry and maintaining the best pace in the wet.
However, although the Dutchman had done very well until the end of Q3, setting several times the best time of the day in increasingly improving conditions with the drivers improving lap after lap, he was finally outclassed in the last moment by Carlos Sainz, who got his first pole position in Formula 1 by 72 thousandths (0.072s).
Verstappen, however, explained that mini-loss was not the result of a poor performance or a mistake on his part, but was due to a yellow flag at the wrong time. It was caused by Charles Leclerc’s spin, and he says that it forced him to take his foot off the accelerator and therefore lose time.
“Yes, qualifying was quite tricky with the rain and then the dry and wet conditions, so you have to be on track at the perfect time,” Max Verstappen began. “But I think overall the car was working very well. In Q3 it’s always a bit of a lottery sometimes when you have to set the fastest lap, but unfortunately I was a bit handicapped on my last lap by that yellow flag. .
However, the world champion, who leads with solvency despite having achieved only two pole positions in ten qualifying sessions so far (Ferrari has seven), does not see any major problems in his second starting position, and has an incredible weapon in his hands for the race, a very fast car.
“I think being on the front row is very good for us and we have a good car both in the dry and in the wet.”
Asked about his plan for this Sunday, the Dutchman added: “Well, I mean it’s not just about the first lap. It’s about the whole race. As I said, I think we have a good car for the race. It also depends on tire management. So yeah, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
