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Verstappen even surprised himself under pressure: 'I didn't expect this'
Max Verstappen battled his way to the front row of the grid for the Mexican Grand Prix. He will start second, alongside Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. For a long time, Red Bull Racing did not seem to have the pace in Mexico City, so Verstappen was satisfied with the result.
"Quite a lot [of pressure after the deleted lap]," Verstappen said about his second run in Q3. The Dutchman had his first time in Q3 deleted due to track limits. "Yesterday I barely didn't do a lot of laps so we were playing a lot of catch up. FP3 was already not very good so I was already under a lot of pressure to have a good qualifying and the my lap time got taken away. So it added a little bit more pressure, but happy to be on the front row. I honestly didn't think that would be possible," Verstappen continued.
Verstappen under pressure in qualifying
The circuit in Mexico provides drivers with unique challenges. "It is probably one of the hardest tracks to get (a lap) right. Street circuits are difficult, and this one as well, because low downforce makes it easy to lock up or slide. Tyres overheat. It's one of the trickiest on the calendar," Verstappen concluded.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton