After returning to the top step of the podium after the Miami round, Max Verstappen regains the pole position that was missing from Imola. He does so, clocking a 1:40.312 and leaving Lando Norris’s McLaren 4 tenths behind.
For the reigning world champion, the day on the track on Saturday in Austria represents a full haul in terms of results. And the start from the first spot, 40th, is the result not only of his talent, but also of the setup changes that the team made to his RB20: “Qualifying went really well, we tried to adjust the car a bit after what we did this morning and it went well. The track is also hotter than yesterday and made everything more complicated to ride, but it gave better sensations than yesterday, every attempt was perfect and fun.”
“We are back on pole after some time – continues Verstappen – the team has worked a lot to provide me with a competitive car and this is a demonstration of strength that I hope to demonstrate again in the race tomorrow”.
“I think the whole session went really well. The car was in a better window, I could push a bit more, rely on the grip of the car and the balance. It was really nice, you know, to try to get through to Q1 without using a new set. And that worked. Then from there we tried to fine-tune the balance. I had been feeling like that in the car for a while and also looking at the gaps, the last few races have always been very close in front or behind. So it was definitely very positive.”
Looking at the last attempt in Q3, Max confirms that a solid lap would have been enough to sign yet another pole position in his career: “I felt confident, I knew that if I did a solid lap it would have been enough for pole, and that’s it which I did today. And that’s what matters. As a team we worked hard to try to be more competitive than in the last few races and it seems to be working, I’m definitely happy about it. Of course you always try to do a lap, some are better than others, but this one was very good.”
“I felt really good with the car – he concludes – and the balance was assured. So you can push and attack in the corners and I think we managed to close the gap.”
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