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Verstappen takes pole but had 'a lot of trouble with the balance' of the RB19
Max Verstappen will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, like many other Grands Prix this season, from pole position. Charles Leclerc, who has managed to snatch pole positions from Verstappen on occasion, stayed behind the Dutchman in Abu Dhabi. Things certainly did not go smoothly for the Red Bull driver.
Verstappen starts the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from pole position, following his fast lap in Q3. For a long time, it did not look like the Dutchman would set the fastest time, but he finally managed to do so. "What a turnaround, to be honest, because in practice it was not looking that good," he said in the press conference afterwards.
What didn't go well for Verstappen in RB19?
"I struggled a lot with the balance," Verstappen explained afterwards. "So luckily, I think we made the right changes on the car for qualifying because I think from that one, it all just felt a lot more connected. And yeah, around here, where it's a lot about tyres and how they behave. You know, if you have tiny slides here and there, they overheat. So in qualifying, it definitely felt a bit better," Verstappen concluded.
Are Verstappen and his team looking at previous years' data in Abu Dhabi? " It will help a little bit," Verstappen explained. "But of course, every year, your balance or issues that you have to go faster are a little bit different. So you can't always relate fully to what you have done in the past. But it does help a little bit. It does help you understand a few things," Verstappen informed.