Max Verstappen’s consecutive run of pole positions at the Dutch GP was brought to a resounding end by Lando Norris. The McLaren driver edged out the Dutchman to pole at Circuit Zandvoort by a whopping margin of almost four-tenths of a second during qualifying. Despite this, former Aston Martin head of strategy, Bernie Collins was full of praise for Verstappen.
The three-time champion will start tomorrow’s Grand Prix from the front row of the grid alongside Norris. Collins believes that the RB20 did not deserve that result today. With Red Bull reportedly hitting a developmental ceiling, their rivals have overtaken them in terms of performance.
Collins believes that Verstappen’s lap had more to do with his own prowess behind the wheel rather than the ultimate potential of the RB20. The Dutchman’s teammate, Sergio Perez finished behind both the McLarens and George Russell’s Mercedes in P5.
QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION
Superb from Lando Norris #F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/rTTORnbNd3
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Sky Sports F1 quoted Collins as saying, “That was Max all day long – getting something out of the car we didn’t think was possible. He will really want this. He will want the win more than he has wanted it in a long time.”
Going into qualifying, many teams had made setup tweaks overnight from Friday’s practice. Red Bull had taken the same approach, however, the results were not exactly what Verstappen had been hoping for.
Setup change could come in clutch for Verstappen during Dutch GP
Motorsport Italy had suggested that the Milton-Keynes-based outfit had elected to run a high-downforce configuration on both their cars for the weekend. They were also looking to experiment with their front-wing setup.
This was to do with the expectation that it would rain during the qualifying session. In fact, the preceding F1 Academy qualifying and Porsche Super Cup qualifying were both rain-hit sessions. However, when it came to qualifying for the Grand Prix, the weather had cleared up and the track was bone dry.
Motorsport Italy – Red Bull has decided to use the high-downforce engine cover on both cars in Netherlands. Red Bull continues its experiments on the front wing: in free practice, comparisons will be made to then choose a development line. https://t.co/S7APLff7WX
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Consequently, the RB20 was not as effective on the straights when dry and the Dutchman was suffering from corner-entry understeer and acute exit snap oversteer. But this decision to stick with the high-downforce setup could pay dividends come race day, with windy conditions at Zandvoort potentially leading to intermittent spells of rain.
