Max finishes first qualifying session in third

Published on 30 May 2014 by Stefan Meens

At the Hungaroring, Max Verstappen secured P3 ahead of race 1 of the fourth round of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. After the thrilling qualifying session, the 16-year-old fell two tenths short to beat the fastest laps of pole sitter and championship leader Esteban Ocon and session runner-up Tom Blomqvist.

Earlier in the day, the Dutch youngster showed potential by claiming the third and fifth fastest time in the free practice sessions. “I wasn’t too happy with the car after free practice. We struggled with the balance and suffered a lot of oversteer”, reveals Max. However, Van Amersfoort Racing worked hard to improve the car ahead of the first qualifying session of the weekend.

Shortly after the pit lane opens for qualifying, all cars take to the track. After five laps it is Max who tops the leaderboards. The Dutchman cannot rejoice for long as Ocon sets a 1:35.7 in his fourth lap before setting his pole winning time (1:35.585) the next time round.

Meanwhile, Max finds himself in eighth position but he strikes back with an impressive 1:35.881 which earns him P3. “Qualifying was a lot better than free practice so I’m fairly pleased. We managed to improve the balance of the car significantly after FP2 and it showed in lap time.”

Blomqvist splits the Dutchman and Frenchman by setting a time just 0.084s off the pole mark. Max' team mates finish the session in the middle of the pack with Gustavo Menezes in eighth and Jules Szymkowiak in fourteenth.

On Saturday, Max will start race 1 from the third spot on the grid. Due to the circuit characteristics, the race is set to be a challenge. “I'll try to win one or two places at the start because it will be very difficult to gain places during the race. The long straight is too short to make use of a slipstream and overtaking is nearly impossible elsewhere. But I'm going to give it my all as always”, concludes a motivated Max.

The full schedule for the FIA F3 European Championship round at the Hungaroring can be found here.
To follow Max you can make use of the official Euro F3 live timing and stream:
Live timing is available at: http://livetiming.de/timing/FIA
Live stream (races only) available at: http://www.fiaf3europe.com/livestream.html

Furthermore, via Twitter and Facebook we will keep you updated throughout the weekend followed by a full report on Verstappen.nl at the end of the day’s action. 

FIA Formula 3 European Championship Round 4 - Hungaroring – Day 1, Friday May 30: 
Results free practice 1
Results free practice 2
Results qualifying 1