Max Verstappen was disappointed with his qualifying result for the Austrian Grand Prix after feeling that had he had one more lap he could have secured a better starting position than eighth.
The Red Bull Racing driver was left to watch others improve their times as the track conditions at the Red Bull Ring improved as it dried after a brief rain shower saw everyone start on the intermediate Pirelli tyres before making a mid-session switch to slicks.
Verstappen feels he should be able to make progress from his starting position on race day, especially when he is one of the few drivers to gamble on making it through the second phase of qualifying on the Supersoft tyre rather than the Ultrasoft.
“The conditions today meant we had to switch from dry to wet and then back to dry, which made it interesting,” said Verstappen. “We were out too early and of course everyone goes faster at the end of the session.
“I passed the line with 50 seconds to go which meant everyone had time on a drier track. It’s difficult to say where we would have been. The pace was good, but we start too far back.
“We made a good call with the tyres in Q2 so we start on Supersofts tomorrow so we shall see how we go. I said about the kerbs causing problems yesterday and I think my point was proven again today. Daniil had quite a big crash due to them early on. Not many people agreed with me yesterday but I think they could find out for themselves.”