F1 | Verstappen: “The second half wasn't bad, we were strong today”

Max Verstappen believed right up until the end that he could take pole position away from Lewis Hamilton, especially after the best time set in the second qualifying heat. Instead the Dutchman had to "settle" for the front row and the second half behind the seven-time world champion. Even though the start was missed, the standard-bearer from Milton Keynes is excited for tomorrow's race where he will be able to attack from the start.

"It was a good lap, I struggled a little in Q1 but we resolved the balance in Q2 and it went well in Q3. I think I did both laps quite well, except that the second attempt was a little worse also because there were gusts of wind – admitted Verstappen at the end of qualifying – Second place isn't bad, we were very strong today but we know that they are very hard to beat but I'm happy to be so close".

Tomorrow the start will be a key aspect of the race, especially in Barcelona where the distance between the starting grid and turn 1 is very large: “It's very long but you have to start very well – underlined the Dutchman – We think we have the pace and we hope we can have a good race. Tire management? Here with all these fast corners and with overheating it's very important, we have to make sure we get to the bottom of this. In qualifying we tried to go very slow to prepare for the lap, so that the tires could last until the last sector".