He eclipsed 2022 arch-rival Charles Leclerc in the dying moments of a twice-red-flagged session due to crashes by the two Mercedes drivers who were a serious threat to pole.
The Ferraris left the pits ahead of Red Bull for the final 2min 30sec. qualifying penalties.
Leclerc set a personal best in the first sector, lost time in the middle part of the lap, but then produced the fastest run of the session through the final sector to grab provisional pole in 1m05.013s.
Verstappen, meanwhile, missed his personal bests in sectors one and two – although his slower time in S1 was still 0.07s ahead of Leclerc, before he conceded 0.03s to Ferrari in S3.
The Red Bull driver then grabbed top spot for the sprint race from his rival, a personal best finishing sector just 0.002s slower than Leclerc to clock 1m04.984s.
Explaining his lap, Verstappen knew he had lost time early on and therefore had to be “pretty spot on” and did so by being aggressive with the track’s restrictions in the final corners.
Verstappen said: “It was a bit difficult. I think the long wait [after the red flag] it’s never amazing.
“Then we went out. My turns 1 and 3 weren’t the best, so I knew the rest of the lap had to be quite a place here for me to do something.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“And I think especially the last sector was a lot better than what I’ve done before and more on the edge, of course, with the limitations of the track.
“It was good. It was close. I knew it was going to be close, but of course it’s always nice to be ahead.”
Read also:
The second pole from three races comes after Verstappen asked Red Bull to give him a faster car for qualifying in Azerbaijan after watching Leclerc take four positions in a row between Miami and Baku.
This one-lap advantage, combined with the race pace of the RB18, underlined Verstappen’s confidence for the sprint race.
He continued: “I think we usually have a great car. Qualifying is not our strong point.
“So, I’m just hoping, of course, that I have a clean turn 1, a good run, and anything can happen from there. But I feel confident with the car we have.”
Add Comment