Max Verstappen believes third on the grid was the best Red Bull Racing could do at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Dutchman had threatened throughout qualifying of denying Mercedes AMG Motorsport a front row lockout but felt third was the “maximum” they could achieve in qualifying.
“It was an exciting qualifying and I’m happy to be starting third as I think it was the maximum we could do today.
“Everyone in the Team works so hard at this race so hopefully they can also be happy with this and my mechanics did a great job.
“Of course, as a driver and a racer you always want to be on pole but you also have to be realistic.”
Verstappen was the most likely driver to deny Mercedes pole position and was on their pace in Q2 but the Red Bull couldn’t get the tyre temperature right when it mattered most.
“In Q2 it looked pretty good but I knew that they (Mercedes) were coming and that they still had some margin.
“In Q3 we didn’t quite have the tyre temperature that we wanted on the final run, which cost us a bit of lap time, but I still don’t think we had enough for the front row.”
Verstappen feels he still has a chance of tasting victory at the Circuit de Monaco on Sunday but knows he has to keep close to the two Mercedes
“Overall, I feel good in the car and we keep pushing hard to improve.
“It is of course hard to overtake here so it will be very challenging to move forwards in the race, but if we are able to stay close then who knows what can be done with strategy.
“Whatever happens, I will be pushing as hard as always for the best result.”
