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Verstappen in "no man's land" in Monza

13:23, 02 Sep 2018

byBobby Vincent

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen says that he is in "no-man's land" following qualifying in fifth place in Monza.

Ferrari dominated the qualifying session in Monza yesterday by locking down the front row, with Mercedes ensuring the second row.

Verstappen managed to get fifth place, where he will be starting today's race alongside Haas' Romain Grosjean.

"We tried to make the most of it and fifth was the maximum result today," Verstappen told Sky Sports F1.

"Monza is the most difficult track for us, so fifth was what we expected already before the weekend.

"It's quite normal where we are so it's not a disappointment. We just tried to do the best qualifying we could. We can't really do much more."

Verstappen sounded satisfied with his fifth placed finish, but nevertheless, the Dutchman is disappointed at the gap between his car and the Mercedes and Ferrari cars.

"It's quite painful how much we lose on the straight but it is what it is," he added.

"I noticed a different with the new engine today (C-Spec Renault), maybe one and a half tenths. It's a little improvement and at least I'm happy with that but for sure, we need much bigger steps to be really competitive.

"I didn't have a slipstream in my final run in Q3. (But) I don't think we would have been further up the grid, even if we'd had one. Perhaps we would've been a bit closer.

"We're pretty far off the front. The Ferraris and Mercedes will be too quick for us. We'll drive our own race and see if something happens in front of us."