Verstappen: Q3 is ‘painful’ for Red Bull

Max Verstappen focused on the advantage that both Mercedes and Ferrari have when it comes to the nitty-gritty in qualifying.

Red Bull initially looked like being Mercedes’ main contenders in Q3, but fell to their usual third row slots as Ferrari recovered somewhat on their final flying laps.

Max Verstappen pipped team-mate Daniel Ricciardo to P5 on Sunday’s grid but is still not happy with the gap to the top.

“We just don’t have that power mode for Q3,” Verstappen bemoaned.

“Turn 1 to Turn 4 is flat out so it is even harder for us as we just lose more top speed.

“And from Turn 7 to Turn 10 is also straight now so it’s all a bit more painful for us and it just gets even harder.

“And together with my final lap I couldn’t continue after Turn 1 as I had a moment there, so the gap is probably a bit bigger than it should be.”

Verstappen also believes the supersoft tyres will not prove popular at all in Sunday’s race.

“I still don’t know what the faster tyre is to be honest,” Verstappen admitted.

“I chose supersoft, Daniel went on the soft. I don’t think many people will actually choose the supersoft [for the race].

“Over one lap you can maybe go a little bit faster but they will fall apart over a longer run.

“So a lot of people will be choosing the soft and the medium.”