F1 | Is the secret to Max's pole in Honda's “magic button”?

During the years of Mercedes hegemony one of the catchphrases was the “magic button”, i.e. the qualifying map (at the time permitted by the regulations) which allowed the maximum to be squeezed out of the power unit for a few laps.

All the drivers powered by the German manufacturer carefully measured the kilometers available, a precious plus especially on some tracks. In qualifying held today in Melbourne, Red Bull seemed to have a “magic button”, something that allowed Verstappen and Perez to make a leap forward in Q3, at the crucial moment.

Sainz and Leclerc finished Q2 in first and second position, Carlos leading with a time of 1'16”189, Charles second (1'16”304). Ferrari seemed to be there, Verstappen closed the second session with a time of 1'16”387, Perez fifth (1'16”631). “Both Q1 and Q2 were not very good sessions,” Verstappen commented at the end of the day, and Max's team radios also testified to the less than perfect behavior of the car. Then, in Q3, here's the jump. Verstappen lowered his time by 0″472, Perez by 0″357, an improvement that allowed the two Red Bulls to place in first and third position. In Q3 Sainz improved by 4 thousandths, Leclerc (due to an error on his part) worsened by 0″131.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo credit: Mark Sutton

Verstappen was vague about what led to the final push. “We didn't start well – commented Max – in Q1 and Q2 I didn't really believe in the possibility of taking pole, then we developed some small things that can be done during qualifying, and in the end these changes allowed us to make the difference. The temperature gradually rose, in the first two sessions the track was slower and lap after lap the grip increased. In Q3 I found myself in the best conditions to really push the car to the limit, in both fast laps.”

The Red Bull technicians worked keeping in mind the conditions in which Q3 would take place. After the first lap in Q1, Verstappen complained a lot about the car's inclusion, but as the asphalt rubber progressed, the grip came to the car's advantage, finding the perfect combination in the final two laps.

Verstappen also did his part, the margin of 0″359 over Perez is no small thing on a track like Melbourne, and once again Max was able to put everything together when needed. “I tried to do my best – confirmed Max – there is always something better that can be done in every corner, I can say that I am satisfied with the final two laps done in Q3”.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

The pole position made up for a Saturday that wasn't the easiest for the Red Bull garage. Yesterday evening, while work was progressing on the Milton Keynes simulator to remedy the setup problems that emerged in free practice, the unwelcome news regarding Verstappen's power unit arrived from Honda.

The hard passage in FP1 on the external curb of turn 10 not only damaged the bottom of the car (a problem that cost Max 20 minutes of waiting before taking to the track in the FP2 session) but also the power unit. The team had to replace the unit on car number 1, and Honda itself is not sure if it will be able to recover the power unit for future use.

It is in fact the first technical unexpected event of the season for Red Bull, even if it is a minor problem. The attention is now entirely on the 58 laps scheduled for tomorrow, and on the feared (by everyone) graining problems. Starting from the front is always a good advantage if you face a race with some questions about tire management, and Verstappen put himself in the best position to be able to dictate the pace.