Max Verstappen delivers his verdict after Red Bull falls less than a tenth shy of pole position at the F1 Imola GP
Max Verstappen has declared the qualifying session a positive for Red Bull, as the driver was less than a tenth shy of securing pole position in the F1 Imola GP. The Dutch driver has been quite brilliant in qualifying this season and already has 3 poles to his name.
Heading into qualifying, it was once expected to be a battle between the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, with Max Verstappen expected to be an outside contender. The session was, however, a bit different from what the expectations were. Verstappen was right on the money from the very first lap.
In Q3, after the first lap of running, it was once again Max Verstappen in pole position with less than a tenth in hand over Oscar Piastri. In the second round of running, it was the Australian who took over and was able to take pole position away from the Dutch driver.
Looking back at the session, Max Verstappen felt that the soft tire went away from him as the lap developed, and that's what cost him ultimately. He said,
"Everything was going really well, just this softest compound is very difficult to keep them alive around the lap. Sector one was good and then the tires again fell away from me from there onwards by tiny margins."
He added,
"It was cool but you could see George set his lap on the medium, so maybe they were a bit too soft for this track and for us at least it was a bit more difficult to extract the most out of it. I felt happier on the medium. But the race is tomorrow, that is where you score the points, so that is where we have to focus on. But I do think today was a very good day for us."
Max Verstappen on fighting Oscar Piastri for the win
The race on Sunday could more or less be a one-stopper once again, with drivers managing the tires in the first stint before pitting. As a result, the start is going to be crucial, and if Max Verstappen can jump Oscar Piastri at the start, he can manage the race. Looking ahead to Sunday, the driver hoped that the car had picked up a bit of pace compared to Miami, which would make it more competitive. He said,
"Last race was not really a fight. I hope we pick up a bit of pace, have a bit more of a stable car, and hopefully we can look after our tyres a bit better."
Max Verstappen is on a 3-race winning streak in Imola, and he has not lost at this track since 2021. The driver knows how crucial the start is going to be, and we might see him try and take the initiative early on.