Max Verstappen: I didn’t expect such a result

Max Verstappen won qualifying for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, repeating Ayrton Senna’s record for the number of pole positions in a row: eight. After the session, the Red Bull Racing driver said that the result was unexpected for him.

His teammate Sergio Perez set the eleventh fastest time. The Mexican was just 0.015 seconds short of reaching the final.

Max Verstappen (1st): “A difficult weekend for us, even this morning. I’m very happy to have won pole in Imola. I didn’t expect this result. We have made the final adjustments to the settings for qualifying. Apparently they fit the car better and I could attack harder.

The track is simply incredible and in qualifying we are on the limit, close to the gravel. I even touched the gravel in the last corner. The adrenaline was just going through the roof.

A great start to the season and this pole position is special. It’s been thirty years since Ayrton Senna passed away, and today’s pole position is a good way to honor his memory. Ayrton was an incredible driver, especially in qualifying.

Great day for the team, I’m very happy.”

Sergio Perez (11th): “We experimented a lot with the car settings. In qualifying the gaps appeared to be minimal. In the first session I had a weak lap, so I had to play it safe to pass accurately.

Because of this I started the second session on rolled-in tires. For the second set of laps I was on new tires and it was a surprise to me how much the grip of the rear wheels on the track had changed. I went straight into turn seven and lost two and a half tenths.

I think we have made good progress with the car, as Max’s result shows. Unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to demonstrate my speed in the final. Tomorrow it is important to minimize losses and earn a lot of points.”