The leader of the championship, Verstappen, clinched his third pole position of the season. Despite Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz leading both Q1 and Q2, Verstappen managed to secure the pole, denying Ferrari a chance to lead the field on Sunday’s race.
Throughout the weekend, Verstappen had been struggling to find the right balance for his RB20 car. But as the weekend progressed, Red Bull made continuous adjustments to the car, bringing it closer to the front. By the time Q3 arrived, Verstappen was able to deliver a strong performance, clocking a time of 1m15.915s.
Verstappen mentioned that it was challenging to find the right balance in the car during the weekend, but some minor adjustments made before Q3 helped him push the car to its limit. He expressed satisfaction with his performance as a whole.
When asked if he was struggling more than usual with the car, Verstappen agreed. He explained that it was through fine-tuning the car that Red Bull managed to maintain its perfect record of pole positions this season. He acknowledged that there were areas where he could improve but was generally pleased with his laps.
Verstappen faced some disruptions during Friday’s practice due to fixes needed on his floor and chassis after a curb strike. However, he didn’t believe that this would affect his performance in the race. He gathered more race-relevant data during Saturday’s practice session and remained hopeful for an interesting race on Sunday.
Verstappen’s pole position was a result of continuous adjustments made to the car throughout the weekend, helping him secure a strong performance despite initial struggles.
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