Max Verstappen, the best of the rest in Qualifying
Facing the clock, the young Dutchman delivered the best performance of his career in Melbourne, securing fifth position, two places ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr.
After glimpsing the potential of his single-seater, particularly during the third Free Practice session, did Max Verstappen secretly hope to position himself so high on the starting grid?
In any case, the youngest on the field (18 years old) once again demonstrated the extent of his talent today by delivering the right lap at the right moment to secure fifth position. This position puts him simply as the best of the rest behind the two Mercedes and the two Ferraris!
Although I am a little surprised, this result is a superb accomplishment for the whole team; we can consider ourselves the best of the rest at this precise moment! Confident in his strength, he even claims that we deserved this fifth position.
For the record, this performance even surpasses that of his father, Jos, who never started higher than the sixth position throughout his career!
For Max Verstappen, there is no doubt, the STR11 seems to be a good vintage. And the engine change, from Renault to Ferrari, seems to be highly relevant: “We knew that the car was well-born but we didn’t know what the other teams were doing… I think we made a very good step forward, not just with the car but also with the power unit. Everything worked perfectly today.”
So, can Max Verstappen do even better tomorrow? « We have to be positive for the race, we have a good chance to maintain our position ».
As a reminder, Verstappen already finished fourth last year, twice, during the Hungarian Grand Prix and the United States Grand Prix.
But let’s not forget his teammate either. Carlos Sainz also made the most of his car’s potential by securing a seventh position at the end of Q3. The Madrid native might have aimed for more if not for that missed braking in the penultimate corner of his final flying lap: “I am delighted with my grid position!” he nonetheless admitted to the journalists’ microphones. “Although I didn’t set the lap I wanted in Q3, seventh place is a good starting point for the opening race. The car is performing very well, and the hard work we’ve done this winter is starting to pay off. It was a very intense session for us. We hope to reach this top seven for tomorrow; I am now looking forward to the race; it will be a pleasant race!”
And Max P5!!! Great job @Max33Verstappen! Fantastic first Quali of the season for our Tori! 👍🏼💪🏼🙌🏼😁🇦🇺 #GOTOROROSSO pic.twitter.com/5l2YRXdVX7
— Toro Rosso (@ToroRossoSpy) March 19, 2016
