Verstappen looks up at technical problems: "I have no idea why!"

After qualifying, Max Verstappen stands smiling in front of the Ziggo Sport camera, as the Dutchman had a rock-solid qualifying performance, despite a number of problems. "The lap itself was okay in itself, only at the exit of turn three I shifted up, but it was so bumpy, so it went from four to six. Instead of four, five, six. So I lost a tenth and a half to turn seven and apparently I didn't have my DRS open on the last straight," Verstappen said.

Indeed, the DRS on Verstappen's RB16B did not open, costing the Dutchman time. "I saw now that it didn't open, but I have no idea why. I just clicked the lever though. In the end, it's close, but there was still something in it of course if those little things hadn't happened."

Verstappen also had a moment of oversteer at the start of his lap, but according to the Red Bull Racing driver, that mistake won't have had much impact on his lap time. "Maybe two-hundredths of a second. Obviously, I get on the gas earlier, so I don't think I lost any time there. Only that wind is obviously coming from behind out of that corner there, so then the car gets a bit looser."

One Red Bull against two Mercedes

With pole position on the Zandvoort circuit, Verstappen has a comfortable position to take. It's not a track where overtaking is easy. According to the Dutchman, the race is just not a mere formality.

"If you're in front at the first corner, you're not there yet, because you still need to be in front for almost seventy-two laps and it's pretty heavy on the tyres too. I also have two Mercedes cars behind me again, so we cannot change the strategy. That's a pity of course, also for the constructors' championship," concluded Verstappen. Teammate Sergio Perez didn't make it out of Q1 and will have to start from sixteenth on the grid.