Max Verstappen expressed that “a miracle happened” as Red Bull delivered an unexpected turnaround to help him claim pole position at Formula 1‘s Qatar Grand Prix.
Verstappen produced a stellar lap on his last run in Q3 to post a time 0.055 seconds faster than Mercedes’ George Russell to claim his first pole since Austria in June.
The Dutchman bagging top spot arrived against expectation based on Red Bull’s competitiveness earlier in the weekend which saw him trail home eighth in the Sprint.
Verstappen had bemoaned enduring a “terrible” balance with his RB20 during that race, but he emerged as a contender to clinch pole when he headed the times in Q2.
Having been half a tenth down on Russell’s provisional pole time on his opening timed attempt, Verstappen unlocked an extra tenth to displace the Briton at the death.
Asked how different the car felt compared to earlier in the weekend, Verstappen told media including Motorsport Week: “Yeah, I mean quite different.
“Just felt a bit more hooked up on entry, mid-corner, like everything that was bad before improved quite a lot.
“So I felt it straight away from lap one that, yeah, all just felt a bit more consistent and that’s exactly what we needed to be a bit more competitive.”
Verstappen revealed Red Bull’s “more aggressive” set-up changes inspired an instant improvement to the handling which helped him to get the tyres in the right range.
“I think from the first lap in Q1 it felt a lot more promising, but then to get the tyres in the right window is very tough,” he explained.
“So then it went away a little bit then it came back again and then, yeah, luckily for Q3 I think it was there and, yeah, very happy with how we turned it around.”
However, Verstappen conceded that even he was taken aback that Red Bull transpired to make a large enough step to have the inherent pace to edge its rivals to pole.
“It couldn’t have been worse,” he highlighted. “So we just looked at it. And I mean, it’s not all super clear, but we’re like, ‘well, we have to go and try this direction’.
“We put it on the car and it worked. And of course, you know, a lot of people back at the factory analysing a lot of stuff already throughout the whole weekend.
“But at the end of the day, you have to make the decisions also on track if you want to do it or not. Simulator is running in the background as well. A miracle happened.”
Verstappen details pole lap
Verstappen detailed how an added confidence to push the RB20’s limits around the Lusail International Circuit saw him extract time throughout the lap on his pole run.
“It was very good,” he added. “I felt confident in the car. So I was pushing it.
“And honestly, the whole lap was a hundredth here and then two-hundredths and then the last corner a little bit.
“It was not a lot compared to the previous lap, but it just everywhere a little bit better. Of course, that’s a little bit less fuel in the car because I only did one run. That helps.
“So yeah, it was all pretty close, but it felt just a lot more connected for me. That was definitely necessary. “
“Then you can attack the corners a bit more. And that gave us pole position.”
Scepticism on Red Bull’s race pace
The reigning F1 champion has admitted that he is sceptical about his prospects of converting pole in the race, though, based on Red Bull’s sluggish pace in the Sprint.
Pressed on how hopeful he was about seizing a ninth win this season tomorrow, Verstappen replied: “It’s still a bit of a question mark.
“I did feel that yesterday we were not too far off in qualifying and then I felt like we’re quite far off in the sprint.
“So this is great, you know, to be on pole but I’m not sure yet if it’s going to be, let’s say, enough to really be the outright fastest but, yeah, we’ll find out tomorrow.”
READ MORE – Max Verstappen pips George Russell to surprise pole position in Qatar
