Max Verstappen surprised by his performance to nab pole for tomorrow’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix following a difficult start to the weekend for Red Bull in Imola.
Despite failing to trouble the top three during free practice, Max Verstappen once again put together a sensational qualifying drive to snatch Pole for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from an ascendant McLaren team and earn his 38th pole position in Formula 1.
Eventually beating Oscar Piastri to the honour by just under a tenth of a second in Q3, the Dutchman admits he was surprised to secure pole after a difficult start to the Grand Prix weekend for Red Bull. Some late stage changes to the car setup allowed the Dutchman to maximise his performance while his teammate failed to progress to Q3.
“Yeah, a really difficult weekend so far, even this morning,” Verstappen said after the session. “So I’m incredibly happy to be on pole here. I didn’t expect that, but we made some final changes before qualifying.
“They seem to make it feel a bit better. I could push a bit harder, and this track is unbelievable. A qualifying lap, to be on the limit here, close to the gravel – I touched the gravel in the last corner. I’m still pumping the adrenaline is very, very high.”
Verstappen was then quizzed on his latest achievement; equalling Ayrton Senna’s record of eight consecutive pole positions. The three time champion paid homage to the Formula 1 legend who tragically lost his life racing at the same venue 30 years ago.
“It’s of course a great start to the year, but also very special. It’s 30 years since [Senna] passed away at this track. So of course [I’m] very pleased to get pole here. In a way it’s a nice memory to him. He was an incredible Formula 1 driver, especially in qualifying laps as well.
“So yeah, great day for me, great day for the team. So I’m very very happy.”
Speaking in the press conference following the session, Verstappen was asked about gaining a tow from Nico Hülkenberg in the final part of qualifying. He admitted it helped him on his final lap, but added he carried too much speed into the second corner as a result.
“We were tow buddies out there.” He joked. “In Q2 already, and Q3. So I gave him a tow to [turn] 17, and he gave me a tow to turn 2. I think I did arrive a bit too quick for my liking, because I did miss turn 2 a little bit.
“I did gain. I did lose a little bit in 2, but overall I think it did help me a little bit. When you are struggling the whole weekend and then finally it’s coming around, you have to look for these little advantages to stay ahead, and it worked out beautifully.”
Reflecting on his experience with the world famous Tifosi so far this weekend, the Red Bull man shared an anecdote from the session.
“Honestly it’s been great and actually I had a funny story from qualifying. We were driving in the pits and a lot of people were clapping, but one guy was doing some different things to me, so I gave him the finger. The next time I came around he was clapping.
“So, it’s easy to be not nice to drivers, but I can also be not nice to you. Luckily he was a bit higher up. After that I guess he appreciated it.”
