At the Suzuka circuit, Max Verstappen managed to take pole position for the Japanese GP. However, Verstappen was not completely satisfied with his lap, although he was of course happy with achieving pole.
“It was quite exciting at the end. In general, this track is sensitive to the tires. The asphalt is very aggressive for the tires and if you start pushing the limit, it doesn’t always work out well,” says Verstappen looking back on qualifying, according to his official website. “On the lap itself the start was good and then I lost grip at the front and then you can’t really attack anymore. Nevertheless, the most important thing is to be on pole.”
“You want every lap to be perfect, but on a circuit like this this will not always be the case. All in all, it was a very good day and we are in a good starting position for the race, and tomorrow is the day that counts.”
Teammate Sergio Perez stranded just 0.066 seconds behind Verstappen, but this means that Red Bull will be on the front row with both cars tomorrow, which is of course important for the strategy during the race.
“It’s good for the team to start in the first two places and hopefully we can keep this up tomorrow. We looked strong over one lap, but it remains to be seen whether that will translate into the race. At the race pace I was not really satisfied with the car. I didn’t have great balance yet and had a little too much tire wear. So we still have to try to fine-tune a few things.”