The Dutchman confessed that he left "nothing on the table" in qualifying. Lawson was eighth in his return to Red Bull
Max Verstappen was convinced that he had "left nothing on the table" in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver had to settle for seventh position after experiencing "limitations" in the car: "Unfortunately the car didn't change much, so I had the same balance limitations as yesterday" declared Verstappen.
The four time world champion tried to give his fans a thrill during the qualifying session but could not match the pace of McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari: "There wasn't much more, to be honest. I don't feel like I left anything on the table, it's just not where I wanted to be" he stated.
Verstappen was seventh in qualifying, one position ahead of his provisional teammate Liam Lawson, who was eighth in his return to Red Bull F1 team. The Dutchman acknowledged that the team needs to work on the car for the future: "I think some fundamental things in the car, hopefully we can solve them for next year. The rest is perhaps trying, of course, to find a bit more performance, but we'll see in the upcoming races" he explained.
Lawson, who replaced the injured Isack Hadjar, was satisfied with his performance: "It was good, it was an improvement from yesterday, putting it all together. Getting to that point in qualifying is good. Overall we probably wanted more from the car, but obviously my only reference at the moment is Max. I've been trying to get closer throughout the weekend and I feel that, honestly, I did a good lap" he commented.
The New Zealander driver was optimistic ahead of Sunday's race: "Overall, happy with that side. Obviously tomorrow we have to try to stay here at least" he declared. Asked what he would consider a success in the race, Lawson explained: "At least staying where we are, that would be really good. Trying to move forward too if the opportunity is there. Obviously I'm still learning this car in race conditions, today was quite complicated. I have some data to review to try to help with that."
Max Verstappen's lack of pace at Zandvoort GP is worrying for Red Bull. The Austrian team needs to recover lost ground if it wants to fight for the championship. Mercedes has been the dominant team in the first half of the season, and Verstappen knows he needs a more competitive car to fight for wins. Qualifying for Sunday's Grand Prix was a reminder that Red Bull still has work to do.
Liam Lawson, for his part, has shown he can adapt quickly to a new car. The New Zealander has been close to Verstappen in both qualifying sessions, despite the notable differences between the first team's RB and Racing Bulls' cars. This gives him confidence that he can score points in Sunday's race..
The Red Bull team needs to improve the RB22's performance if it wants to fight for the championship, as the gap to the front teams like Mercedes Benz and Ferrari is becoming increasingly noticeable. Verstappen trusts that improvements will come, but time is running out.
