Max Verstappen fourth in qualifying Baku: 'We could have achieved more'

Published on 27 April 2019 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen qualified fourth for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Dutchman was with a time of 1:41.069 only half a second behind the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton, who will start at the first row of the grid. Sebastian Vettel ended third. Qualifying almost took two hours because of crashes from Robert Kubica and Charles Leclerc.

Max drove his fastest lap while he was alone on track. While he returned to the pits in the last phase of Q3, the rest just went out on track. Another lap was not an option for Max: “I did not have any new tires left, so that was it for me”, explains Max after qualifying.

Verstappen looks back at qualifying with mixed feelings: “The lap itself was good, but it was a shame that we did not have any slipstream, while the rest gave each other a slipstream. I lost two and a half tenths in the last sector. When you are driving in a row you win a tenth on each straight because the cars have so much downforce. We could have achieved more if we were part of this, but we were not.”

However Max sees enough opportunities for tomorrow: “The car was good, that is the most important. We have a fourth place, we took everything we could and there is a lot possible. It can be an interesting race tomorrow.”

Under a clear blue sky the qualifying on the street circuit of Baku gets underway. As usual the Aston Martin Red Bull drivers come out on track late in the first session of qualifying. Max starts with a 1:42.836 (P13) and returns to the pits.

In his second run the Dutchman improve considerably. With a 1:41.727 Max goes to fourth position. That turned out to be more than enough for him to go through to Q2. Just before the end of the session crashed Robert Kubica hard into the wall in the narrow turn 8. The Pole is alright, but that cannot be said of his Williams. The other drop outs after Q1 are George Russell, Nico Hulkenberg, Romain Grosjean and Lance Stroll. Pierre Gasly surprisingly end Q1 as quickest. The Frenchman will have to start the race from the pits because he missed the weigh bridge at the end of the second free practice and received a penalty.

The start of the second part of qualifying was delayed to repair the damage to the barriers. When the track is released, Max sets straight away the fastest time (1:41.338). Halfway Q2 crashes Charles Leclerc at the same spot as Kubica. The Monegasque damages his Ferrari considerably, but can exit his car without injury. Again a red flag while the track is cleared.

Max does not get out on track again when the session is restarted. His quickest time is not beaten and he goes through to Q3. Red Bull Racing teammate Gasly does not set a time in Q2. Kevin Magnussen, Alexander Albon, Daniel Ricciardo end Carlos Sainz are also eliminated after Q2.

Max goes out on track first in Q3. With a 1:41.447 he gets to fourth position. Unlike the other drivers Verstappen stays out and sets a second time (1:41.069). Then Max returns to the pits, while the other drivers go out on track for their second run. Bottas takes pole in front of Mercedes teammate Hamilton. Vettel ends third while Max falls back to fourth position. Sergio Perez, Daniil Kvyat, Lando Norris, Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen take fifth to ninth position. Leclerc does not set a time in Q3 because of this crash and ends in tenth position.

Azerbaijan GP contest: Win a Red Bull Racing 2019 polo!

Results qualifying Azerbaijan: