Lando Norris has given Max Verstappen some nervy moments in 2024. He beat the Dutchman in Miami and almost replicated the feat in Imola. In Barcelona on Saturday, Norris edged Verstappen in Qualifying, taking pole by just 0.02 second, but this time, the Dutchman isn’t too worried. In fact, it should be the other way around.
Verstappen was asked if he’d make a move on the first lap to overtake Norris. The Red Bull driver let out an ‘evil’ looking smile suggesting that he will and said,
“I always don’t think about it too much but if we have a good start, we’ll go for it.”
That smile from Max in response to the question about overtaking Lando right at the start of tomorrow says it all ☺️
pic.twitter.com/8zWAgOdkKx— Marc | Formula 1 (@433_marc) June 22, 2024
The run towards turn one at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona is 595 m long – one of the longest in the calendar. It is also why Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner insisted that Verstappen starting from P2 wouldn’t be the end of the world.
Norris and Verstappen will go side-by-side heading into that corner. And Horner, like most others, doesn’t expect Verstappen to give the Bristol-born driver a lot of space. Even if Verstappen isn’t able to overtake Norris on that part of the circuit, Red Bull has the pace to mount up a proper challenge later on in the race.
Max Verstappen delighted with Spanish GP Qualifying despite missing out on pole
In his post-qualifying interview, Verstappen explained how he gave his everything on the final Q3 run. He wasn’t happy with the car’s balance in Practice or Qualifying but was still just a whisker away from securing P1.
FP2 Long Runs, too pic.twitter.com/MHy6L3R3TE
— Formula Data Analysis (@FDataAnalysis) June 22, 2024
As quoted by RacingNews365, he said,
“Unfortunately, it was just not enough but that is how it goes. I think overall, we can still be very happy with this performance and qualifying, and it’s definitely all to play for tomorrow.”
There was a sense of fighting spirit in Verstappen’s comments. Horner explained after the qualifying session that tire degradation will play a huge role in Barcelona on Sunday. And referring to the setup opted by Verstappen, Horner hinted at a tire life advantage.
Red Bull also had the fastest cars on Friday during the high-fuel load runs in Practice. Verstappen was considerably faster than Norris, despite being on the medium rubber compared to Brit’s soft. As such, the stage is set for a tight fight at the Spanish GP.
