Max Verstappen says he is satisfied with being on the front row of the grid for his home grand prix despite being beaten to pole by Lando Norris.
The championship leader was three tenths of a second slower than Norris at the end of qualifying. His deficit of 0.51% across the lap is the farthest Red Bull have been from pole position all year.However Verstappen beat the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri to the front row of the grid.
After being slower than both McLarens and the two Mercedes over Friday’s dry second practice session, Verstappen says he was pleased to be as high up on the grid as the front row.
“In Q3 I think the first lap wasn’t too bad,” he said. “Then I tried to push it a bit more, but everything just seems very snappy, very on the edge, I would say. But nevertheless, I’m happy to be on the front row.”
Verstappen went into qualifying with one fewer set of soft tyres than his rivals, having used more in practice, which compromised his approach.
“I think after Q1 and Q2, I mean, I’ve never really been in that top five region,” he said. “Of course, I was trying to save tyres a bit because I only had four sets, but I never really felt that I was in the fight for pole. And then when you come out of qualifying on the front row, I think that’s okay.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Many drivers complained about the effects of strong winds at Zandvoort on their cars during qualifying, with Verstappen saying he also struggled in the conditions.
“I had a bit of a moment in turns 11 and 12, but that was also a bit my qualifying in general,” he explained.
“Every run, there were always one or two corners where I felt like I was losing a lot of time with just the gusts of wind. It seemed like it was very sensitive for us. The car was really responding aggressively to it and that’s why I think every single run that I did it was different. I just had a different balance every time. It just made it very difficult.”
Starting alongside Norris at the front of the grid for Sunday’s race, Verstappen expects that Red Bull should be closer in race pace to the McLarens than they were in qualifying.
“I would hope so, but I think when you see the gap, it’s going to be very tricky,” he said.
“Also, it just seems like Lando’s a bit happier in general with just the driving and how he feels. I’m a bit more all over the place with the balance, so I don’t know, maybe it stabilises a bit tomorrow, but I guess we’ll find out.”
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories - and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2024 Dutch Grand Prix
- Previous technical hires no obstacle to Newey joining Aston Martin – Krack
- Mercedes still unsure whether Spa floor upgrade is working
- McLaren’s Dutch GP upgrade “nowhere near” as significant as Miami package
- “Very hard to pinpoint” why car has become harder to drive – Verstappen
- Only one F1 driver is making worse starts than Norris in 2024
BasCB (@bascb)
25th August 2024, 13:06
Yeah, well, we’ll see about that. I do think it shows Verstappen will have to do his magic, but I could still see him winning this, and that is not even about the start, although getting strategy right is paramount for McLaren this time.