“It’s not going to be an easy race”: Max Verstappen insists that starting on pole is not going to make the US Grand Prix any easier for him

Max Verstappen feels that Sunday’s race in Austin is going to be incredibly tough for him in spite of him starting on pole. 

The Red Bull driver put in a strong performance on Sunday and will start the race on pole. This is his 9th pole of the season and 8th in the last 11 races. Verstappen would be hoping to convert this pole to a win and solidify his lead at the summit of the standings.

His teammate Sergio Perez also put in a good performance. The former Racing Point driver will be starting 3rd on the grid behind Max and Lewis.

Max is however, wary of the conditions in Austin. The temperatures have been unusually high this weekend and the Dutchman feels that it will play a big role in today’s race.

“To show this pace in qualifying is positive for the race tomorrow. But I still fully expect it to be tough out there. It’s going to be really warm and very hard on the tires. It will be interesting.” the 24-year old said ahead of the race.

“We just have to focus on ourselves tomorrow. Hoping for a good clean start and then be as fast as we possibly can,” Verstappen concluded.

ᴘ ᴏ ʟ ᴇ 🤘 Very happy with this result and thankful for all the hard work by @redbullracing and @HondaRacingF1 💪 Really enjoying the crowd here in Austin, this place has been buzzing all weekend 🤠🇺🇸 Looking forward to racing here again tomorrow ✌️ #USGP pic.twitter.com/yll1wVUnBG

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) October 23, 2021

I am not a 100% satisfied with Qualifying, says Sergio Perez

The Mexican driver was not fully satisfied with his outing on Sunday. He feels he could have done better considering the fact that he showed amazing pace all weekend long.

“I’m pleased with today’s result but I can’t be 100% satisfied because we had the pace to be on pole,” he said. “It’s a bit of a shame. It started raining quite hard on the final lap. I was the last car on track and I lost the time in sector three so we were a little unlucky in that regard.

“We are in a good position for tomorrow. It’s going to be a long race where anything can happen,” he said. “There’s also a lot of support out there from the fans and I really hope I can deliver a fantastic result for them too.”

Red Bull will be looking to make gains in the Constructor’s Championship this weekend. Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas’ grid penalty has given the Milton-Keynes team a good chance to close the gap between them.

Also read: “I don’t know why it is always brought up”: Max Verstappen reacts angrily after reporter suggests possibility of a first lap crash with Lewis Hamilton