Max Verstappen was left to rue a gear sync issue on his final run in Q3, which he felt cost him a chance at challenging Kimi Räikkönen for third place.
Friday pacesetter Verstappen, who stopped on track in the third practice session amid an engine glitch, was fourth quickest in Q2, splitting Ferrari pair Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen.
However, in Q3, Verstappen slipped behind Räikkönen, winding up two-tenths down on the Finn, with Vettel in between both, leaving the Dutchman in fifth spot.
“The car felt very good during qualifying, I struggled a bit to get the tyres working in sector one but everything else felt like it was going in the right direction,” he said.
“I think we realistically had a shot at P3 today, which on this track would have been a fantastic result.
“On my final lap in Q3 I was going about three tenths quicker than my best time but then I lost gear sync in the second sector, it cost me a couple of tenths which was frustrating and meant we could not challenge for third.
“I’m hopeful we can get on top of these issues overnight and be ready for tomorrow.”
Verstappen is hopeful that he can challenge the Ferrari drivers for the podium, believing Mercedes to be out of reach up front.
“Once again Mercedes have made a big step today so I don’t think we can get close to them but we will be looking to challenge Ferrari come the race,” he said.
“It would be great to get on the podium and that is the goal.”
Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo will start from a lowly 10th spot after he hit the wall at Turn 6.
