Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen said he is happy to have placed an “unexpected” Pole position for Saturday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Dutch driver claimed the top spot on the grid for tomorrow’s race, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc behind him by only two tenths.
Verstappen was happy to have achieved such result but said it was “unexpected” due to the difficult conditions on track and the suspected lack of performance his car had compared to other teams.
“It was a lot of fun,” he told F1 after qualifying. “The track had a lot of grip, but with the wind, the last two days, it was tricky to get the whole lap together. It was the same in qualifying.
“To really get everything out of it in Q3 was a little more difficult, but I’m very happy to be on Pole. It was a little bit unexpected but luckily in qualifying the car came to us and I felt a bit happier with the whole car.”
Verstappen predicted that tomorrow’s Grand Prix “is going to be close.”
He said Red Bull “looks good as well,” but was cautious and warned that it’s a matter of time until the team finds out about their race pace.
“I am confident we can have a strong race,” the Dutchman concluded.