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United States Grand Prix poleman Max Verstappen felt unsettled in his Red Bull until his final lap in Formula 1 qualifying after struggling to get to the limit of the car.
Verstappen claimed his ninth pole of the season at the Circuit of the Americas after overcoming title rival Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in a tense qualifying showdown.
Red Bull started the Austin weekend on the backfoot but while Perez quickly established himself as a pole contender throughout practice Verstappen admitted he has had an “up and down” event.
He was almost a second off the pace in first practice, failed to set a representative time in second practice (when he also had a run-in with Hamilton) and then had his best lap delete in final practice.
Verstappen composed himself in qualifying to edge Perez in Q1 and go quickest on the medium tyre in Q2 – then clinched pole with an excellent final lap that got him ahead of Perez and Hamilton who each held provisional pole.
“Just getting to the limit of the car felt a little bit more difficult for me this whole weekend so far, to try and get that last bit out of it,” Verstappen said.
“Even in qualifying I had to work up to it and then on the mediums actually I felt really good.
“In Q2 that was a good lap and seemed like it suited me a bit more in terms of driving.
“Then the first run in Q3 again, it wasn’t perfect, I just couldn’t really get the same out of it in terms of feeling compared to Q2.
“So, I had to dig deep in Q3 run two. And then it even started like spitting a bit on your visor in the last sector so it wasn’t ideal!
“But to be on pole of course is great, especially in a weekend so far where it was a bit more difficult to find that last bit.”
The balance of power at Red Bull has been unusual at the United States GP as Perez has barely threatened Verstappen on one-lap pace at all this season.
He looked like he might outqualify Verstappen in a straight fight for only the second time after the first runs in Q3.
Verstappen said he felt he had a “good feeling” in the car in final practice but was then not “entirely happy” again in qualifying.
“I was just chasing maybe a bit of balance – just for myself,” he admitted.
“Normally I always feel very comfortable in the car and I easily get up to speed, but it just seemed on this track this weekend it’s been a bit more difficult.
“But it can’t be smooth all the time, right? That also makes it challenging and fun, because otherwise it gets boring if it’s always too easy.
“And I think as a team we worked very well together, they try to help me out to try and improve, and at the end to then just put it together in Q3 is of course what you want.
“It’s not always what you get, but it worked out this weekend.”
Verstappen’s improvement in Q3 was vital as he had outpaced title rival Hamilton on the first runs but Hamilton had then jumped from third to first on his second run.
In the end, Verstappen secured pole by over two tenths.
“I knew that I had to find a bit more in the last run,” he said. “So then, of course, it’s a bit more exciting.
“And this track as well, it’s an amazing track but it’s very hard especially in the high speed to nail every single lap because of how quick you are going through these corners.
“The first sector is completely different to the second sector and then again the second sector is completely different to the last sector, where some other tracks have quite similar corners.
“So, there’s a lot going on. And a lot of changes as well you’re doing throughout the lap.
“Once you put it together as good as possible it’s a nice relief.”
