Max Verstappen looks back on qualifying with a satisfied feeling. The Dutchman qualified third and only had to yield to Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli. “I haven’t often finished in the top three this season. I think we had a good qualifying session. The car has received a number of good improvements,” Verstappen said during the press conference.
Read more Antonelli frustrated after P2 at Madring: ‘Norris snatched it right in front of my nose’
Still, qualifying did not go without problems. Especially in the last sector, Verstappen lacked speed. “But it was also difficult when we arrived here. We struggled mainly with the last sector, which we didn’t get right. We just don’t seem to be able to get the tires to work as well there as our competitors. That of course makes it very difficult to close the gap. But overall, I am very happy with how it went.”
Verstappen said he got everything out of the car. “I did learn a few things. I am especially happy with the progress from Q1 to Q2 and then to Q3. I don’t think I left much out there. We mainly have to deal with a few limitations of the car that we know are there. Besides that, we just didn’t quite get the power delivery right in the last sector.”
Free air
In Q3, Verstappen chose not to go out immediately. “It was especially important to have free air. There was enough time, because everyone went out quite early. So we had the opportunity to wait a bit and then do another run.”
In his second run, Verstappen clocked a time of 1:31.964, good for third place. That put him only 0.140 seconds behind Norris, who took pole position with 1:31.824. Kimi Antonelli was second with 1:31.835.
However, Verstappen did not want to compare his third place one-to-one with that of his competitors. “Yes, but I think I was also one of the first to use two sets. So it’s not really a fair comparison.”
Read more Max Verstappen can live well with P3 in Madrid: ‘Very good qualifying’
Long runs
Verstappen expects the dynamics during the race to be different. “But well, this is qualifying. The race tomorrow is a whole different story again.”
However, he does not expect an easy overtaking race. “It will be difficult. Even if we are faster in the best case, you can’t just overtake someone here. There are actually no corners where you can really pass.”
That is why the opening phase can be decisive according to Verstappen. “So you have to hope that people attack each other very aggressively. It will probably be very difficult with the long runs; that will probably be the most important point tomorrow.”
“Even with a faster car, one problem remains: finding a place to actually overtake,” said Verstappen. “But even then, I still have to find a corner where I can overtake someone.”
Read more Result qualification GP Spain 2026
Read everything about the Spanish GP here
