Verstappen: We were lacking a bit but we have a decent race car

Saturday, 23 July 2022 at 22:06

While lamenting a lack of pace in his Red Bull during French Grand Prix qualifying, Formula 1 World Champion and championship leader Max Verstappen will start from second on the grid and is confident he has a solid race car at his disposal.

Verstappen probably lost pole today at the Austrian Grand Prix last week! Last Sunday, Carlos Sainz's Ferrari went up in smoke, meaning a new PU and bits for the Spaniard and a grid penalty that sees him starting no matter what he did in qualifying at Paul Ricard on Saturday.

This gave Ferrari a real wingman during qualy today in France to provide a useful tow for Charles Leclerc to scorch to the top of the timing screens; Verstappen and Red Bull had no answer, but they will be thinking: points are scored on Sunday.

Verstappen said as much when he summed up his afternoon: "Overall, we were lacking a bit in qualifying, just general grip. It was a bit trickier than I would have hoped but overall we still have a decent race car."

Max: For the Ferraris to be on pole again shows that they have a great car

vesrtappen french gp qualifying red bull

But Verstappen believes he can work something on Sunday when it matters: "Hopefully the race will come into our favour, we're quick on the straights so we can use that. Clearly, Ferrari have been really quick again.

"We pushed hard but there were a few areas on the track that I couldn’t improve on, especially in my final lap. We have a good race car but looking after the tyres is key, it’s much warmer tomorrow and that will have an impact so we’ll have to see what we can do strategy-wise.

"For the Ferraris to be on pole again shows that they have a great car and I expect them to be very quick again. It’s good to have Checo alongside though and we are quick on the straights so let’s see what we can do," added Verstappen.

The Dutch ace leads the 2022 F1 World Championship at the halfway mark on 208 points, 38 ahead of Leclerc with 11 races to go.

Meanwhile, Ferrari are hunting a hat-trick of victories on Sunday, while Verstappen will be seeking his first win in July; his last victory was over a month ago at the Canadian Grand Prix.