Verstappen lost time due to battery problem: 'Would have looked better'

Verstappen previously indicated that the balance is not yet as it should be, despite minor improvements. "We don't know what it is, otherwise we would have adjusted it of course," he told. For that reason, he stayed a bit longer on the track on Friday to talk to his engineers. "Given the problems, I had more to explain than usual, but for the rest, I trusted my engineers," says the 24-year-old Limburger according to Dutch newspaper The Telegraph.

Verstappen won't make it easy for Hamilton

In the end, he had to settle for a gap of more than three tenths to title rival Lewis Hamilton, but because his battery ran out faster than planned on the final lap he had less power left on the straight. "I think it cost me one to one and a half tenths. It wouldn't have given me pole, but it would have looked a bit better," Verstappen concluded.

Hamilton will have to come from 11th place after his grid penalty, but Verstappen doesn't expect to take full advantage of that. "I think there's a good chance Lewis will be on the podium tomorrow. Mercedes just has a lot more pace than the rest," he said. Does that mean his rival will easily pass him? "I don't know," Verstappen replies with a mischievous grin.