Verstappen thinks pole was unreachable

Max Verstappen qualified third for the Turkish Grand Prix behind Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton.

Why it matters: Despite starting in the front row due to Hamilton’s penalty, Verstappen admitted that the qualifying conditions weren’t ideal.

Details:

• The Red Bull driver will start tomorrow’s Turkish Grand Prix in second place, although he qualified third.
• Verstappen is happy with the team’s recovery from Friday, saying it was “quite a decent” one.

What he said:

• “At the beginning, it was quite tricky with the conditions, but I think compared to yesterday we actually managed to turn it around quite well.”
• “The laps overall were quite good, even though on the last lap, I lost a little bit down the straights, we have to look into that, but there wasn’t the lap time in it to fight for pole.”
• “But, overall, I think quite a decent recovery compared to yesterday so third is the maximum today, tomorrow lining up in second. Let’s wait to see what the weather will do overnight, but I’m pretty happy.”