Max Verstappen qualified third for the Spanish GP after a tough battle with the McLaren drivers. Oscar Piastri took pole, narrowly beating teammate Lando Norris. Verstappen showed strong pace early in Q2 but could not match McLaren’s speed in the final session. The reigning champion settled for the second row, just ahead of George Russell. With the new technical directive in place, Red Bull seemed to lose some of its usual edge.
“Third position is where we more or less should be”
Verstappen admitted the team lacked pace throughout the weekend compared to their main rivals. Despite that, he felt they “executed well” and delivered a solid performance. Third place on the grid was the best they could achieve for the Spanish GP.
Though the gap behind him stayed small, Verstappen enjoyed pushing the car around the circuit. While the team introduced changes to the car after a “decent Friday”, he could not challenge for pole. Verstappen stayed realistic about the challenge ahead, knowing that it won’t be easy to overtake the McLaren’s during the Spanish GP.
“I guess so. I mean, I think we were lacking all weekend, of course, compared to them. But I think we executed well. And I think, yeah, that third position is where we more or less should be, even though I think it’s quite close behind as well.”
“So yeah, it’s fun. I mean, around here squeezing everything out of the car — the grip is always quite good even with the hot temperatures — but yeah, let’s see tomorrow what we can do from there.”
“Not too much. I mean, I think we had quite a decent Friday actually, and we just made some final changes to the car. But yeah, of course, unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to really challenge for pole. But yeah, it’s okay.”
“Yeah, I’ll try my best, but they will be tough to beat. But we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
Verstappen “had fun” during qualifying of the Spanish GP
The Red Bull driver described his qualifying as steady, but ultimately not quick enough. Verstappen felt the time gap stayed consistent through all three sessions, though his first lap in Q3 was more difficult due to an out-lap strategy that did not work as planned. While the car was in a decent setup window, it simply lacked the pace to challenge at the front. Still, Verstappen enjoyed the session, especially the high-speed nature of qualifying on a track filled with fast corners.
“Yeah. It was fine. I think it was consistently the same delta behind. So Q1, Q2, Q3. Just my first one in Q3 was a bit more difficult because we tried a different out-lap approach and that didn’t work. But yeah, clearly just lacking a bit too much.”
“Sector 1 was quite tough. Turn 1 was never really good, even though I tried different approaches, but just didn’t seem to find the grip there. The rest… It was fine. The car was in a decent window.”
“Unfortunately, not fast enough, but I had fun out there. The car, around here, qualifying flat out, fast corners, it is really enjoyable.”
Verstappen does not expect an easy fight on Sunday
Verstappen remained realistic about his chances heading into the race of the Spanish GP. He admitted it is “going to be tough” based on the pace difference seen in qualifying. While his long run looked decent, he doesn’t expect an easy fight at the front. Still, he made it clear that the team would give everything they had. Verstappen hinted at an aggressive approach at the start, joking about making it three-wide into Turn 1 for the cameras. He agreed that tyre management would be key, not just the launch off the line.
“It’s going to be tough, I think. My long run wasn’t bad, but if you look at the difference today, it will be tough to put up a really, really good fight. But that doesn’t mean that we’re not going try. So, we’ll see tomorrow.”
“I think it’s time to shine in Turn 1, yeah. Make it three-wide for the pictures. Why not? I don’t know. Honestly, I think looking at pace, it will be tough. Like Oscar said, it’s not all about the start and Turn 1. You need to be good on tyres. It’s a long race. A lot can happen. So, I’ll just try to maximise what I got.”