Max Verstappen and Red Bull tested different parts on Friday to collect all possible data and make a firm decision at night for the rest of the weekend at the 2022 Formula 1 French Grand Prix.
This explains why Verstappen was really competitive in the third free practice session since its start, when it normally takes him a long time to get out of the garage. The best time he set in this FP3 gave him confidence for qualifying, although the Ferraris hid their pace.
To make a realistic comparison, we had to wait for the classification. At that moment, Ferrari tightened the nuts a bit on his car and the time from Carlos Sainz, who would sacrifice himself for the team in Q3 due to a penalty that would finally force him to start from the bottom of the starting grid, was a great example of it.
The Spaniard gave Charles Leclerc his slipstream and that allowed him to conquer pole position ahead of Verstappen , who had to settle for second position.
“The third free practice is obviously not qualifying,” said the Dutchman, who also highlighted the difference between the engines between them and those from Maranello. “In qualifying, in general, we fell a bit short compared to Ferrari.”
“It was a bit more difficult than expected, although I think we have a good car for the race. Hopefully the race works in our favour. At least we are quick on the straights, so that can help us a lot here,” he added. .
When Verstappen said “more complicated than expected”, he was referring more than anything to the balance of the RB18: “It took me a bit to find the balance, I didn’t find it in Q3. That could be due to the track and also the heat, maybe not suits our car or my driving style.
The world champion believes that he lost pole because of not having found the balance of his car, more than because of the slipstream from Sainz to Leclerc : “I don’t think the slipstream was three tenths apart, although Charles can say it from But I always look at myself and I have to say I haven’t been entirely flawless in that regard, although we still have two cars in the top three for tomorrow’s race.”
Sergio Pérez will start third, behind the Dutchman, and Sainz’s penalty on the grid leaves Red Bull in superiority against Ferrari , something that is very valuable from a tactical point of view, especially since the strategy seems to be key this Sunday at Paul Ricard.
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