Verstappen sees Red Bull falling short: 'Had expected more from it'
F1 News
Max Verstappen was beaten in the final qualifying session by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Verstappen himself was not very surprised by the Ferrari's, but rather by the lack of improvement in his own run.
Verstappen seemed to be firmly in control during qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix. The Dutchman had already been fastest in practice and left no doubt in qualifying that he was the favourite for pole position. Yet surprisingly, Leclerc and Sainz were suddenly faster in Q3. Verstappen himself did not look too surprised by this.
Verstappen surprised by lack of development
"It's always difficult to tell. I'm not part of their team, so I don't know what's going on. I personally just expected it to be a little bit better in evolution through Qualifying from our side. And I think that's what we were lacking a little bit," Verstappen revealed after F1 qualifying in Mexico.
"The improvements were not big enough, coming into Q3. But this track is also extremely difficult in qualifying to hit the perfect lap. Because it's so low grip, if you tried to push a little bit more, you might overheat the tyres, or you have a little slide. And that's what happened to me today [Saturday], where I tried to find a little bit more time, but then the balance wasn't exactly there. And then you're sliding, you overheat your tyres."
Due to the qualifying, Verstappen will start Sunday's Mexico GP from the third starting spot. This is not unfamiliar territory for Verstappen, who also started from this position in 2021 and also won. Then he overtook two Mercedes drivers at the start, now the triple world champion will be looking to do the same with two Ferraris.