Verstappen is afraid of McLaren's tyre management in race conditions despite sensational qualifying performance
Despite having put in another remarkable effort to take P2 on the grid at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, reigning champion Max Verstappen conceded that he has some concerns regarding McLaren's superior tyre management.
Having struggled for pace on the opening day at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Max Verstappen looked much more comfortable from word go on qualifying day.
The Dutch driver delivered some strong laps in the final practice before having established himself as a contender for pole position. The four-time F1 champion ended up second after McLaren's Oscar Piastri managed to beat his time in the closing stages of the session.
His team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was struggling for pure pace all weekend long. The Japanese made a series of changes to the setup of his RB21, but he could not show the results of it. Tsunoda seemingly took too much kerb, dipping a wheel on the grass and spinning off into the barriers. It was a heavy impact that flipped the car, and as such it was amazing to see Tsunoda walk away unharmed.
“First of all, the most important thing is that Yuki is okay, so that is good, especially after a crash like that happens. Today, to get P2 it was overall a good result and I think we improved a lot from yesterday. The car was a lot nicer to drive and we did some good work overnight and made positive developments.
"I am pretty happy with the balance of the car and we put it in a much better window and saw it really come alive. The tyres overheated a bit more than we would like; it was the first time with this tyre and they were a bit too soft for us which impacted our performance a bit. As we went faster, the more they overheated so we couldn’t optimise the performance of the car as much as we would have liked.
"However, it was a good start and I am pleased to be starting on the front row tomorrow. The race will be a different story as McLaren’s advantage is in the race on the long runs and they are good at keeping the tyres under control. We will see where we are with the pace but we will just focus on ourselves. We will aim to extract the most that we can out of the car and hopefully come away with a good result," said the Dutchman.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner praised Verstappen's performance in qualifying, while he also defended Tsunoda despite the Japanese's significant error.
“An exciting Qualifying for Max. Another great performance. I seem to say it every week. He was close, it was such a small margin for Pole but it’s good to be on the front of the grid and it sets us up well for tomorrow.
"On the other side of the garage, yes, it was a big crash for Yuki, but the main thing is that he is okay. You can always fix a car but having said that, there is lots of work to do tonight for the mechanics. I think he got a little too much kerb on the left hand side. We have a lot of work to do but, as I say, we are all grateful that Yuki is ok."
