Verstappen sees strategic importance Perez: 'Driving with double tyre strategy'

"I always expected it to be close," Verstappen starts in conversation with the Dutch Ziggo Sports, "we would either be just ahead or just behind [Mercedes], and it's just ahead, it seems."

Verstappen also explained how a short circuit like the Red Bull Ring punishes mistakes more heavily: "This is a very short circuit and if you just don't have the feeling in the tyres or make a very small mistake in a certain corner then it makes quite a lot of difference here."

The Dutchman saw his second lap in Q3 fail to improve, but could be satisfied knowing that both his laps had been good enough for pole position. "My last run was just too slow in the out lap, I had so many cars in front of me so I had to drive so much slower and already lost a tenth in the first corner. That stayed the same for the rest of the lap. But even the second lap would have been enough for pole, so that's saying something," the Red Bull driver said.

Different strategy

Finally, Verstappen predicts the strategic importance of Sergio Perez, who will start the Grand Prix on the softer compound. Verstappen: "This morning during the meeting it quickly became clear that I wanted to drive on the mediums, and Perez on the soft. It's maybe also nice that we have two cars on different strategies."