Verstappen: I did my best

Max Verstappen set the fastest qualifying time for the Belgian Grand Prix, but will lose ten places at the start as punishment for an engine change.

His Red Bull Racing team-mate Sergio Perez enjoyed his first confident session in a long time, setting the third fastest time and will start second.

Max Verstappen (1st): “Good qualifying. Luckily the weather was normal: a bit of rain, but that didn’t stop us from qualifying with confidence.

Everything went well – I showed good lap times on each set of tyres. I didn’t know if the track would be dry for the final, so I tried to save two new sets of intermediate tyres for the final. Fortunately my efforts were enough to get through the first and second sessions.

I am very happy. The car was fast enough on the wet track and I could do clean laps, which is usually not so easy. The weather forecast for Sunday promises warmer weather and no precipitation, so much will depend on the degradation of the tyres. We have to make sure we can handle the tyres.

I knew I would lose ten places at the start, so today I tried to do everything I could. I don’t know how fast the car will be in the race, but I hope I can fight and reach the top.

The race could be lost in the first corner, so we will see how things go at the start. I will try to avoid problems. It is a very long race and the tyre wear has to be carefully monitored. I hope we will be competitive tomorrow.

We are not making it easy for ourselves, given how hard we are fighting. I know today is a great day, but on a wet track. Tomorrow we have to be fast on dry asphalt. It will be a difficult fight, but we will try to do everything in our power. I hope I can compete with Ferrari and Mercedes. If luck is on our side, I might be able to compete with McLaren.”

Sergio Perez (3rd): “Qualifying was sometimes difficult. In such conditions it is easy to make mistakes, as was the case in several previous qualifying sessions that were held in similar weather conditions. It is good that I have finally been able to put everything in perspective.

Unfortunately I didn’t have new sets of tyres for the final. In the second session we were a bit out of rhythm, so I was lucky to make it to the final.

I think second place is the best place to start in Spa. Last year Charles Leclerc and I started from the same positions and tomorrow I will try to overtake him again. There is a long race ahead and the weather is expected to be dry, so we will see.

As I always say, every weekend is a new chance to do better. Tomorrow will be a new chance to do better than today. I will try to win. I think the degradation of the rubber will be quite high, as the tyres are very granulated on the new asphalt. There are still many uncertainties ahead, but I have a good feeling about it.”