Verstappen is already feeling the pinch: 'We shouldn't expect miracles'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen came no further than third place in today's qualifying session for the Turkish Grand Prix, behind the Mercedes duo. After the qualifying session, Verstappen was unhappy with the performance of his team, who are celebrating their partnership with Honda this weekend.
"Fortunately it went a little better than yesterday. It's still not good enough, if you look at how close AlphaTauri is to us. Then we do something really bad, or they do something very good," explained Verstappen at Ziggo Sport. Because of Lewis Hamilton's grid penalty, Verstappen will not start on P3, but on P2. That also means he'll be on the side of the grid with less grip.
Worried about starting spot
"That whole inside just doesn't have the same grip (as the outside). I think the start will be the most difficult part of the race", the Dutchman expects. On Friday, the car wasn't at all the way Verstappen wanted it to be, but on Saturday the car already felt much better. Whether they can challenge Mercedes on Sunday, the Red Bull Racing driver doesn't know yet.
"It wasn't a world of difference. I was still suffering from understeer. When you're so far behind in qualifying, you can't expect miracles tomorrow. You never know what can happen in the race, just look at Sochi. We're going to make the best of it in any case," Verstappen concludes with hope.