Max qualifies third in Barcelona: 'Maximum we can do'

Published on 15 August 2020 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen qualified third for the Spanish Grand Prix. The Dutchman set a 1:16.292 in the third qualifying session and secured a place on the second grid row. Mercedes was with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, who finished first and second respectively, a class on their own with seven tenths ahead of the rest of the field.

“The maximum we can do at the moment”, says Max afterwards. “The whole weekend we have been in third position, so I am really happy. I hope we can be a bit closer in the race. The long runs did not seem too bad yesterday, but tomorrow is a different day again. We will see.”

“The gap is seven tents, but the last couple of races we were more than a second behind, so it was not too bad. We know they are very fast over one lap”, Verstappen puts it into perspective.

The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver cannot guarantee that he will form a threat to the Mercedes, partly because of the nature of the circuit: “It is hard to say at the moment, I felt happy in the car. I hope to apply a bit of pressure. It is very hard to overtake around here, especially with the current cars. When you are within three seconds, you lose a lot of grip. Trying to get withing one and a half seconds is a lot more difficult, we will have to do it on strategy. We are going to do everything we can to try and make it a bit difficult for them.”

It is 15:00 when the lights go green for the start of the first of three qualifying sessions. With a temperature of 30 degrees and a track temperature of fifty degrees, it is just like in the free practice sessions very warm.

Max Verstappen leaves the pits relatively early on a set of the soft tyres and sets a 1:17.415 in his first timed lap, before returning to the team. In the final phase of Q1 the Dutchman comes out for a second time and sets a 1:17.213 (P3). Lewis Hamilton finishes the session with a 1:16.872 as quickest. Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean, George Russell, Nicholas Latifi and Antonio Giovinazzi are the first group to drop out.

In the second part of qualifying all drivers are on the red marked soft tyres. Max goes in his first flying lap to a 1:16.518, putting him in third position. Lewis Hamilton has the lead at that time with a 1:16.013. Teammate Valtteri Bottas keeps the gap very small with only one and a half tenth of a second.

Verstappen only does one run (the same as both Mercedes), but keeps his third position and is through to Q3 with a safe margin. Hamilton is again the fastest, while Sebastian Vettel, Daniil Kvyat, Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Räikkönen and Esteban Ocon come short and drop out.

At the start of the third and final qualifying session both Racing Points are the first to come out on the track. Lance Stroll opens with a 1:16.589, but it is Lewis Hamilton who takes provisional pole with a 1:15.584. Valtteri Bottas is close second (1:15.643), after which Max is in P3 with a 1:16.292. The gap to the black Mercedes is with seven tenths substantial.

In the second and last run Verstappen does not improve, but his third position is not under threat, so the Dutchman will start the race tomorrow from the second row on the grid. Lewis Hamilton secures pole with the previously set time with Valtteri Bottas close behind. Sergio Pérez, Lance Stroll and Alexander Albon complete the top six.

Spanish GP contest: win a 1:43 Max Verstappen Spain RB14 scale model!

Results qualifying Spain: