Max Verstappen goes into Sunday at the 2024 Dutch GP looking to score a fourth consecutive race win at his home turf, but is well aware that he needs to keep expectations “realistic” after lapping over three tenths slower than pole-sitter and closest championship opponent Lando Norris in qualifying.
The reigning three-time world champion had no answer for the McLaren driver in the final stages of Q3, and had to settle for second place, over three-and-a-half tenths back from the Briton.
Speaking after the session, the Dutchman admitted he was “very happy” to secure second on the grid – after a difficult and disrupted Friday with limited running, that showed McLaren likely has an edge in longer runs pace and tyre preservation based on FP2 – and pointed out how the windy conditions made it difficult for the drivers to find references points on a lap-by-lap basis:
“I think [during the] whole of qualifying we just lacked a bit of pace,” said Verstappen. “I tried the best I could, and I’m still very happy to be on the front row.
“It’s very tricky out there with the wind, so you had these gusts coming in, and every single lap was different, so you can’t really go [by a previous] reference.
“I’m happy with second. I think after yesterday as well, this is a good result.”
Whilst he wasn’t entirely happy with his final lap in Q3, as he had snaps of oversteer in turns 11 and 12, the Dutchman made it clear that it was a general trend of not feeling comfortable driving the RB20 around Zandvoort:
“I mean, I had a bit of a moment in [turns] 11 and 12, but that was also a bit my qualifying in general. I never really felt comfortable. Every run, there was always one or two corners where I felt like I was losing a lot of time with just the gust of wind, and it seemed like it was very sensitive for us.
“The car was really responding aggressively to it, and that’s why I think every single run that I did was different. I just had a different balance every time, and it just made it very difficult. Q3, I think the first lap wasn’t too bad.
“Then I tried to push it a bit more, but everything just seems very snappy, very on the edge, I would say. But nevertheless, I’m happy to be on the front row. I think after Q1 and Q2, I’ve never really been in that top five region.
“Of course, I was trying to save tyres a bit because I only had four sets, but I never really felt that I was in the fight for pole. Then when you come out of qualifying on the front row, I think that’s okay.”
When asked if it’s feasible he could challenge for the win on Sunday, Verstappen was adamant that the extent of the gap may prove to be too much for him to catch up, and admitted he will keep “realistic” about his chances:
“I think when you see the gap, it’s going to be very tricky. Also, it just seems like Lando’s a bit happier in general with just the driving and how he feels. I’m a bit more all over the place with the balance.
“So I don’t know. Maybe it stabilises a bit tomorrow, but I guess we’ll find out.
“We’ll give it a good go, but I think that when you are more than three tenths behind in qualifying, you have to be realistic. I’ll just try to have a good race tomorrow.
“I mean, anything can happen in the race, so we’ll find out.”
