Max qualifies fourth in France: 'Not good enough today'

Published on 23 June 2018 by Raymond Snip

Max Verstappen finished fourth in qualifying for the French Grand Prix. At circuit Paul Ricard, where for the first time since 1990 a Grand Prix race is organized, the Dutchman set a 1:30.705 at about seven tenths of a second behind the man on pole, Lewis Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas completes the front row for Mercedes by qualifying second. Sebastian Vettel will start the race from third.

Because Max had to report for a doping test immediately after qualifying, it took a while before he could give his reaction with regards to qualifying. "The conditions were difficult, but the car felt okay," Max replies, who was aggressive on the curbs. "Yes, you have to, otherwise you are a lot slower. I drove a different wing setting than Daniel Ricciardo and I think I made the right choice."

Looking back at his final stint, Max explains: "Q3 was not very good. I had too much understeer and it seemed like the side of the tire was not strong enough for us. Then you cannot attack the curves and you notice that especially in the final sector. It just was not good enough today. "Looking ahead at the race, Max analyzes: "Sebastian Vettel will have an advantage on the ultrasofts that have more grip at the start, but then we have to wait and see how long everyone else can go on their tyres. Normally I should be able to go longer on the supersofts. I will try my best in the race tomorrow!"

After a rainy third free practice, the track is completely dry for qualifying. However, there are still some dark clouds around circuit Paul Ricard. At the beginning of Q1, Max goes out on the ultra-soft tyres and with a violently sparking car sets a 1:31,823, which puts him on top of the times table at that moment. Moments later, Kimi Raikkonen, Hamilton and Bottas manage to go quicker.

In his second flying lap, Max goes a bit faster. With a 1:31.531 the Dutchman puts the second quickest time on the clock. In the final stint of the first qualifying session, Lance Stroll throws his Williams over the kerbs and ends in last place. Teammate Sergey Sirotkin is second to last. The two McLarens, driven by Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne, only reach to sixteenth and eighteenth place, so they will not go through to Q2. Brendon Hartley ends up in between them in seventeenth spot. The New Zealander will have to start the race tomorrow from last place, after he received a grid penalty due to an engine change.

It is busy at the start of Q2. Rain is expected, so everyone wants to get out on track as quickly as possible. Verstappen is in front at the end of pit lane and reports on his radio that it is drizzling. Max is first on track on his super soft tyres and with a 1:32.307 he puts the sixth time on the clock. When his engineer asks about the conditions, Max answers: "It is difficult. It is raining and you feel there is less grip."

In his second flying lap in Q2, Max improves his time to a 1:31.590, but remains sixth. While it has stopped raining, there is a third run for the men. Verstapen again goes out on the super soft tyres. He improves his time to a 1:30.818 and moves up to P4. Charles Leclerc drives an excellent lap in his Sauber and for the first time in his career he goes on to Q3. After Q2 Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez, Pierre Gasly and Marcus Ericsson are out of qualifying.

Max is back on the ultra-soft tyres for the start of Q3. After the first stint Verstappen is fourth with a 1:30.705. Hamilton and teammate Bottas are in first and second place. In his fast lap, Romain Grosjean crashes into the wall at turn 4, which causes the session to come to a standstill. With damage to the front of his Haas, the Frenchman is done for the day.

After the car is removed from the track, the session is restarted. In his final stint, Max is not able to improve his time and keeps fourth place. Hamilton takes the pole, while Bottas makes it a complete front row for Mercedes. Vettel will take the spot next to Verstappen on the second row. Behind Max, Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen finish in fifth and sixth. Carlos Sainz is 'best of the rest' in seventh spot. Charles Leclerc qualifies in an excellent eighth place, while Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean will start the race as ninth and tenth.

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