Max Verstappen continues to work on his ninth Formula 1 victory in a row and thus the setting of Sebastian Vettel’s record. He still needs to win the home game in Zandvoort on Sunday, but starting position one put him in the best possible starting position in qualifying. For Verstappen it was the seventh pole in the past eight races.
And in the end, despite the difficult conditions, it came quite confidently: he beat the competition by 0.537 seconds on a drying track, although the lap is not particularly long at around 1:10 minutes.
This also amazes Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko once again: “Six tenths on this short distance is an incredible demonstration of power,” he told “ServusTV”.
“We thought it would be in the hundredth or tenth range,” he adds to “Sky”, “but he has shown in all situations, even in the rain, that he is really the master of the whole event.”
For Verstappen himself, qualifying was about not making any mistakes – especially at the beginning in the wet conditions. “It was quite slippery so it was pretty easy to make a mistake, especially on the new asphalt,” he says. “Sectors one and three were quite slippery. Getting the temperature in the intermediates in particular was quite difficult.”
That was also noticeable on the radio when he quickly complained that the car had no grip at all. “Yes, you had to drive a few laps to get into a rhythm.”
From a safety point of view, the conditions weren’t a problem for him: “It makes a difference whether it’s a race or qualifying. In qualifying you look for your own space and everything was fine,” he dismisses. “But it’s easy to make a mistake when it’s slippery. But it was safe enough.”
Didn’t believe in dry conditions
As usual, it was quite easy for him through Q1 and Q2, but then a new challenge awaited him in Q3. Because suddenly it was dry enough for slicks, which the world champion hadn’t counted on.
“At first I didn’t think it would be dry enough, but the wind and the sun made it dry faster than I thought,” he says. “I was on the intermediate and quickly realized that it was the wrong tire.”
Verstappen drove into the pits, but he couldn’t set a time because Logan Sargeant’s accident put an end to the hustle and bustle. “In turn 1 and 2 it was still difficult at the time with only one dry line. So it was very easy to make a mistake,” he shows understanding.
But the longer we had to wait for the restart, the drier the track became, and when Charles Leclerc had an accident and triggered the next interruption, it became clearer and clearer. “As a result, the dry line has become a little wider. That helped,” says Verstappen.
Small mistake on crucial lap
After that, the Dutchman only had one lap to improve from third place. “The pressure to perform is always there. And if you can do it, it’s incredible,” says Verstappen. “And on the last lap you really had to get out of your comfort zone. But luckily the lap was good.”
But it didn’t really look like that at the beginning: “At first I thought that was it because I braked too late in turn 1,” he says. “So the first corner wasn’t fantastic, but the rest of the lap was okay.”
Where okay is relative again: Although he was a little slower than Lando Norris due to the small mistake in the first sector, he set an absolute best time in sectors two and three and thus snatched pole with ease.
“Always keep an overview”
The strategy also played a decisive role in the end. Verstappen could have gone out earlier after the Leclerc red, but decided to try with just one crucial run.
“It was an intensive conversation with the simulation people,” says Marko, who says that everything was structured and that Verstappen made clear decisions. “He actually kept an overview in all situations,” praises Marko. “Then he made the clear announcement, then they adjusted the wing briefly and then this unbelievable time.”
For the Austrian there is only one logical result after pole on Sunday: “I think if the start is successful, it should be a win.”