Max Verstappen will start F1’s first ever Sprint Qualifying from the front row, after title rival Lewis Hamilton edged the championship leader out of top spot by just 0.075s in the afternoon Friday Qualifying session.
Sergio Pérez will start the 17-lap sprint from P5 after he too was denied a better position due to a track limits infringement on his final flyer that resulted in his lap time being deleted.
Max Verstappen (P2)
“Of course I am disappointed because I wanted to start first tomorrow but we have the sprint qualifying race to decide the main grid and then Sunday as well so we will try and get them back.
Overall, the car was handling quite well but we just had a lot of understeer and I couldn’t really attack the corners as I was waiting for the front to grip up. It was a bit of a weird feeling to drive and I don’t think it was set-up or front wing related, so maybe front tyres, but we will look at it and it’s nothing dramatic.
To be this close is still very good for us on a track we expected Mercedes to be very strong and we know we have a good race car so I’m still confident for the rest of the weekend.”
Sergio Perez (P5)
“I ran wide into Turn 15 and my best lap time was deleted which is a bit of a shame but those are the rules and luckily I only lost one place. P4 would have been a bit better but we have the sprint race to make it further up the grid for Sunday so still there is plenty to play for.
We improved the car a lot as the day went on but I found a bit of a difference in the balance at the end of Q3 and couldn’t get the most out of the car.
I’m looking forward to tomorrow as it will be interesting to see what happens with the new sprint format and how much progress we are able to make in that race.”
