Red Bull locked out the third row of the grid for Sunday’s Formula 1 Barcelona Grand Prix. Max Verstappen appeared to be in contention for pole position after two sectors, but saw his grip disappear in the last part of the lap – an issue many drivers struggled with due to tyres overheating.
“I think it was a decent qualifying session for us,” Verstappen reflected afterwards when speaking to Dutch media. “It’s just a shame that in that final lap, the last sector didn’t come together. Somehow, I simply had no grip anymore from Turn 10 onwards. Unfortunately, that cost us third place today.”
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Besides the loss of grip in the final corners, Verstappen identified one other factor that made qualifying more complicated: the red flag caused by Charles Leclerc.
The Dutchman appeared to be on the right side of things together with Oscar Piastri, as both drivers had already set a lap time while most rivals had not. The rest of the field had to complete a banker lap on used tyres, but those softs were already past their peak due to the high track temperatures.
Nevertheless, Verstappen also saw a downside for himself: the interruption broke the rhythm of completing two runs in quick succession.
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“Most of the guys ahead of me obviously went back out after that red flag because they hadn’t really set a lap yet. I missed that rhythm a little bit in Q3, which is normally quite nice. You go out, do the lap, come back in, add a bit of fuel and go straight back out again. Oscar and I had that 10-minute break. Maybe that didn’t work out for us, unfortunately.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Red Bull has “the real picture” after qualifying in Barcelona
In the end, Verstappen finished qualifying three and a half tenths away from pole, which represents more than a halving of Red Bull’s deficit compared to Friday. The progress appears encouraging, but Verstappen himself cannot fully explain it.
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“Well, it’s still three and a half tenths too much,” Verstappen replied when asked by Motorsport.com. “But it was definitely better than in practice. On the other hand, I don’t really understand how that happened.
“Of course, we changed a few things, but we didn’t completely overhaul the setup or anything like that. So I don’t really understand how that gap suddenly became half of what it was.”
Ahead of the weekend, Verstappen described Barcelona as the real test for Red Bull after the Miami upgrades, mainly because this all-round circuit also features several high-speed corners.
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With a deficit of three and a half tenths, Red Bull may have passed that test better than expected, although Verstappen is not satisfied yet. He still sees the current situation as a sign that there is work to be done in Milton Keynes.
“We’ve already got the real picture today. We can see that we’re still lacking a little bit, so we just need to keep working.
“It’s not one particular corner where we’re losing it, and it’s not as if we’re only losing time in the high-speed corners. It’s small things where I think we’re losing out today. So yes, we just have to keep working on that.”
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Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Surprising Hadjar calls missing out on third place “depressing”
Team-mate Isack Hadjar also found Red Bull’s relatively small deficit surprising, especially because his feeling in the RB22 was far from ideal.
“On top of this being a tough track, it’s also tough track temperatures. That makes everything exaggerated. And I must say, we did good progress throughout the weekend. But to be honest, I still feel like we don’t deserve to be on pole with what we have.
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“I’m surprised by the gap to pole-position, it’s not that big considering the feeling I have in the car, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Precisely because the deficit was not enormous, Hadjar – like Verstappen – believes third place was achievable.
“I think it was a very good lap, except for my turn 1. I look back at the gaps with P3 and it’s quite depressing. I could have been up there, but if, if, if… It doesn’t work like that.”
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Asked what exactly went wrong in the opening corner, Hadjar explained:
“It’s the most important corner, I sent it and did that too hard. I was this [far] from the apex, compromised turns 2 and 3, so I had quite a poor sector 1. And then from there, the rest was very good. No regrets, but it’s a bit, it’s a shame.”
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Photos from Barcelona-Catalunya GP – Saturday
George Russell, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
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Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team
Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team
Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
George Russell, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes
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Koji Watanabe, President, CEO and Representative Director of Honda Racing Corporation
Koji Watanabe, President, CEO and Representative Director of Honda Racing Corporation
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Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
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Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
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Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
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Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team
Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team
Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team
Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team
Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
Flavio Briatore, Alpine
Flavio Briatore, Alpine
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Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team
Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team
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Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team
Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team
Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing
Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing
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Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing
Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing
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Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team, Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team, Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing
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Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
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Alexander Albon, Williams
Alexander Albon, Williams
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Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team
Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team
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Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
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Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team
Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team
Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Lando Norris, McLaren
Lando Norris, McLaren
Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Lando Norris, McLaren
Lando Norris, McLaren
Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team
Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team
Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
George Russell, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes
Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
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Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
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George Russell, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes
Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
George Russell, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes
Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
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