Max Verstappen Reveals Key Factor Behind Disappointing Belgian GP Qualifying After sprint win

Max Verstappen singled out the reason behind his failed shot at Pole Position at the Belgian GP despite winning the sprint race.

Max Verstappen Reveals Key Factor Behind Disappointing Belgian GP Qualifying After sprint win

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull Content Pool)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Max Verstappen has been performing better since the beginning of the Belgian GP weekend, as he achieved a coveted sprint race win on Saturday. The Dutchman was expected to contend for a pole position start for the main race following his sprint victory. However, Verstappen couldn’t best the dominant pace of the McLarens as he finally succumbed to a P4 start. Now, the 27-year-old opens up about what caused him to lose a lot of pace on his final fast lap during the Q3 session.

Red Bull introduced some upgrades to the RB21 challenger, which helped Max Verstappen remain competitive over the sprint qualifying and the main sprint race sessions. However, come the main qualifying for the Belgian GP, the team introduced minor tweaks to the car. This caused the Dutchman to struggle with grip and speed over the Spa-Francorchamps circuit as Verstappen qualified in P4 behind Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Charles Leclerc, respectively.

Max Verstappen started the final fast lap of the Q3 session on a deficit as he lost balance of the RB21 challenger at the La Source corner of the circuit. Thus, he lost over two-tenths in the first sector and couldn’t trump Lando Norris’ pole time of 1:40.562 seconds. Now, the 27-year-old singled out the problems that caused him to ultimately lose his shot at a front-row start.

Max Verstappen asserted that he couldn’t push throughout the entirety of the Belgian GP qualifying due to a lackluster performance in his car. The Dutchman highlighted that one needed to be fully committed since the first turn of the circuit. But Verstappen couldn’t get the rotation of the challenger correctly into Turn 1, which immediately ruined his chances of a pole position.

I felt like the whole qualifying, I couldn’t push. Around Spa, you need to be committed on entry—you want the car to rotate, and I couldn’t do that, basically.

Max Verstappen said in a post-qualifying interview

Max Verstappen predicts ‘very hard’ battle against McLaren

McLaren achieved yet another front-row lockout at the Belgian GP, courtesy of the dominant pace in the MCL-39 challenger. Oscar Piastri couldn’t hold onto his lead in the sprint race as Max Verstappen clinched the victory in a seemingly inferior car. Still, the raw pace of the McLaren chassis is comparatively better than Verstappen’s RB21, as the latter anticipates a tough battle incoming during the main race.

Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri (via Red Bull)
Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri (via Red Bull)

Max Verstappen pointed out that the teams would eagerly watch the weather conditions in case it starts to rain at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The Dutchman asserted that he would like to finish atleast P3 ideally if all things go well. Regardless, the 27-year-old didn’t hesitate to declare that fighting the McLarens would be very hard, as anything can happen under rainy conditions.

We have to wait and see how much rain falls. Ideally, I would like to at least be P3. Fighting the McLarens will be very hard, but anything can happen!

Max Verstappen noted

Red Bull’s upgrades might be paying dividends as Max Verstappen looks more confident driving the car around the circuit. The Dutchman has given it his all and would now hope for the best possible pace from the challenger. The Belgian GP could be filled with tricky weather conditions as a rainy circuit would definitely work well in Verstappen’s favor.

Read More: Max Verstappen Pushed ‘Beyond the Limit’ to Defeat McLaren in Belgian GP Sprint