In ordinary circumstances Max Verstappen would be furious about missing out on pole position. But after qualifying in second place for the Las Vegas GP he uttered a sentence containing sentiments which are vanishingly rare for this most competitive and demanding of individuals.
“It’s fine like this,” he said.
Rain ahead of and during the first segment of the qualifying session made track conditions perilous throughout. There was enough standing water for Pirelli’s blue-walled ‘extreme’ wet tyres to become the de facto choice until the final segment; usually these tyres are never seen in action during a grand prix weekend because conditions wet enough to warrant their use are normally attended by a red flag.
So simply getting through to Q3, given continuously evolving track conditions, traffic, and frequent yellow flags, was an achievement in itself. But it has become apparent that Red Bull’s competitive renaissance has lost some momentum: a new floor geometry for Monza appeared to have unlocked some inherent potential in the RB21 and enabled Verstappen to regain ground on Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the title race, but recent events have indicated that Red Bull hasn’t been able to reach a complete solution.
The team continues to run split set-ups across its cars, essentially using Yuki Tsunoda’s as a mobile testing lab. The two Red Bulls are running subtly different floor geometries this weekend, not because of a lack of spare parts but because it is continuing to chase the elusive sweet spot. Team boss Laurent Mekies apologised to Tsunoda after qualifying in Las Vegas for making “big mistakes” with tyre pressures.
Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Carlos Sainz, Williams
Verstappen’s tone has shifted in parallel with these developments. From openly writing off his championship chances in the summer, he became actively re-engaged after winning at Monza and over the subsequent races where he regained ground on the McLaren drivers. But after losing that forward momentum – to Norris at least – in Mexico and Brazil, he has revised his position again and said, ahead of the Las Vegas weekend, that he “needs a lot of luck until the end” and that he’s “not even thinking” about the championship.
Red Bull’s practice was compromised by its failure to achieve much in the way of long runs on representative rubber, and two red flags at the end of FP2 meant Verstappen didn’t get to explore the RB21’s potential when the timing was most aligned with qualifying – though this was rendered academic by Saturday’s rain.
“It was super slippery [during qualifying],” he said. “You know, it felt like ice. To be honest, not a lot of fun to do.
“I love driving in the wet, but this for me is a little bit too much, I would say. You just have to be super careful.
“And honestly, I was surprised there were not too many incidents. So everyone was behaving quite well – or scared. Whatever. I think we were a little bit more competitive on the extreme than the intermediate [tyres].
“Just super hard to do a clean lap. You have people backing out, yellow flags, locking up yourself, 360 – all of that. We just went through qualifying without too many dramas, I would say.
“And to be on the front row is good. A bit unlucky of course with not having another lap, but I think if you look at the whole of Q3, we never really were in contention for pole anyway, so it’s fine like this.
“The track does dry up and normally, lap after lap, you should be able to go faster, but there was no time. I think if you look at the whole of Q3, we were never up there.
“We were never first, we were never quick enough, and to be second is fine.”
Verstappen has of course parlayed positions other than pole into the race lead at Turn 1 – and from there, won grands prix in a car which is not the fastest. In Brazil, having been knocked out in Q1, he raced through the field to the podium after the team broke parc ferme to change both the car’s setup and its power unit. But in Las Vegas he was careful to manage expectations.
“We didn’t really do any proper long running,” he said. “In FP1 I did a little bit, which was not entirely to my liking. So I hope with the changes we’ve made since then that it will be a little bit better. But I’m not expecting it to be amazing.”
Photos from Las Vegas GP – Practice & Qualifying
Lando Norris, McLaren
Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Alex Albon, Williams FW47
Jayce Illman / Getty Images
Ben Affleck in the Paddock
Michael Potts / LAT Images via Getty Images
Ben Affleck in the Paddock
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari SF-25
Peter Fox / Getty Images
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL39
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Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-25
Jayce Illman / Getty Images
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
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Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team
Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images via Getty Images
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team
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Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Team
Guido De Bortoli
Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 02
Kym Illman / Getty Images
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team
Jayce Illman / Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Guido De Bortoli
Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL39
Chris Graythen / Getty Images
Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing
Michael Potts / LAT Images via Getty Images
Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
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Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
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An Elvis impersonator in the Paddock during final practice
Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images via Getty Images
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Blaise Matuidi in the Alpine F1 garage
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Blaise Matuidi in the Alpine F1 garage
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Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
George Russell, Mercedes
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George Russell, Mercedes
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Guido De Bortoli
George Russell, Mercedes
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Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team
Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team
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Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images via Getty Images
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images via Getty Images
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Guido De Bortoli
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Guido De Bortoli
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Guido De Bortoli
Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team
Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
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Lando Norris, McLaren
Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images via Getty Images
Lando Norris, McLaren
Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
Lando Norris, McLaren
Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
Lando Norris, McLaren
Kym Illman / Getty Images
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 / Getty Images
Carlos Sainz, Williams, Zak Brown, McLaren
Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Carlos Sainz, Williams
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Carlos Sainz, Williams
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
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