Max to a great third place in qualifying: “Very happy”

Published on 09 July 2016 by Mike Motilall

Max Verstappen finished fantastically in third during qualifying to the British Grand Prix. On the 5.891 km long circuit at Silverstone, the Dutchman was to be found at the front in every qualifying round, which eventually earned him the third spot. By chance also the best qualifying result for a Dutchman in Formula 1. Lewis Hamilton grabbed pole position, followed by team mate Nico Rosberg. Max beat his team mate Ricciardo for the first time in qualifying.

“Today was especially a very good qualifying so I can be very happy with P3”, Max tells after qualifying in the FIA-press conference. “In general I have been a bit unlucky the last two qualifyings, but in the end the race pace was always very promising. It all went well today, so I was not too worried. We gradually built up the weekend. The car was performing as it should be. I think we were very strong compared to other competitors behind us. I can be very happy with P3 because those Mercedes guys, seem like they have a turbo button”, the Dutchman funnily remarks, “P3 was definitely the best possible result for us today. The long runs are looking good for us, so I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

On a completely dry track, the first part of qualifying takes off. Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber remains in the pits. During the third free practice session in the morning, the Swede crashed severely and due to the severe damages, his car is not able to be repaired on time to take part in the qualifying. Ericsson was taken to the hospital for a routine medical examination and it is expected that he will be able to partake in the race tomorrow.

Max heads out on track in Q1 for his first and only run and with a 1:31.305 he clocks the third fastest time. This proves to be fast enough to get through to the second part of qualifying. Button, Palmer, both Manors and Nasr are not quick enough and fail to get through.

Both Mercedes dictate once again the tempo in Q2. Max Verstappen follows in third. On the softs the Dutchman does a 1:30.697. This lap proves also to be fast enough to get promoted to the final part of qualifying. Kimi Raikkonen spins his Ferrari exiting the last corner, but is able to continue on. Drop outs in the second part are: Perez, Massa, Grosjean, Gutierrez, Kvyat and Magnussen.

In Q3, the fight for pole position gets underway with a fast lap from Lewis Hamilton, a 1:29.339. However, his time is deleted after he has been caught exceeding track limits. Max does a 1:30.313 which earns him the second spot. Just a mere seven tenths of second slower than Nico Rosberg. During his second run, Lewis Hamilton is able to put down a decent and clean lap and takes pole with a 1:30.287. The other drivers are not able to improve their times. This leaves Rosberg in second, followed by Max Verstappen in third. His best qualifying result in his budding F1-career and the best qualifying result for a Dutchman in Formula 1.

Jan Lammers’ old record, when he finished fourth during qualifying at the Long Beach Grand Prix in 1980, has now been broken! Team mate Daniel Ricciardo, for the first time, finishes behind of the youngster in fourth. Raikkonen’s and Vettel’s Ferraris are P5 and P6. Vettel has had to replace his gear box before taking part in qualifying and will be handed out a five-place grid penalty for the second time in a row. He will now start the race from P11. The British Grand Prix will start Sunday at 14:00 hrs. Dutch time.

British Grand Prix - Silverstone - Saturday 9 July

RESULTS QUALIFYING

01 44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                    1:30.739 1:29.243 1:29.287 14
02  6 Nico Rosberg        Mercedes                    1:30.724 1:29.970 1:29.606 14
03 33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:31.305 1:30.697 1:30.313 12
04  3 Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:31.684 1:31.319 1:30.618 12
05  7 Kimi Räikkönen      Ferrari                     1:31.326 1:31.385 1:30.881 15
06  5 Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                     1:31.606 1:30.711 1:31.490 17
07 77 Valtteri Bottas     Williams Mercedes           1:31.913 1:31.478 1:31.557 12
08 55 Carlos Sainz        Toro Rosso Ferrari          1:32.115 1:31.708 1:31.989 15
09 27 Nico Hulkenberg     Force India Mercedes        1:32.349 1:31.770 1:32.172 18
10 14 Fernando Alonso     McLaren Honda               1:32.281 1:31.740 1:32.343 15
11 11 Sergio Perez        Force India Mercedes        1:32.336 1:31.875 12
12 19 Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes           1:32.146 1:32.002 10
13  8 Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari                1:32.283 1:32.050 14
14 21 Esteban Gutierrez   Haas Ferrari                1:32.237 1:32.241 14
15 26 Daniil Kvyat        Toro Rosso Ferrari          1:32.553 1:32.306 12
16 20 Kevin Magnussen     Renault                     1:32.729 1:37.060 12
17 22 Jenson Button       McLaren Honda               1:32.788 3
18 30 Jolyon Palmer       Renault                     1:32.905 9
19 88 Rio Haryanto        MRT Mercedes                1:33.098 9
20 94 Pascal Wehrlein     MRT Mercedes                1:33.151 9
21 12 Felipe Nasr         Sauber Ferrari              1:33.544 8

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