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Nevertheless, the reigning world champion was reasonably satisfied with his third place, behind pole sitter Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz. “On Friday I only drove a few laps due to all the problems, so today it was also about getting to know the car and finding the right balance. It’s not easy here, so I was surprised that I was still so competitive in qualifying. We did that well, if you see where we come from. But we should also try to make it less difficult for ourselves. The car feels good, so I think we have a good chance in the race.”
Verstappen is curious to see how the tires will hold up during the Grand Prix on Sunday (starts at 9.30 pm Dutch time), if it may be even warmer than Saturday. In addition, the asphalt in some parts, outside the race line, is quite slippery.
Leclerc was delighted with his pole position. “In Imola I made a mistake two weeks ago, so I’m happy to be on pole here now. Hopefully we can finish it up tomorrow. Red Bull is fast on the straight, us in the corners. It will be an exciting fight.”