Red Bull held in check by Ferrari

After the first attempts in Q3, the top 6 led by Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and closed by Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) was only separated by a little less than five tenths. Moreover, the Ferrari seemed within reach of the two RB12s, but the last timed laps did not allow the duo from Christian Horner's team to consistently beat the SF16-Hs of Räikkönen and Hag.

It is only thanks to the German's three-place penalty (after his actions at the first corner in Malaysia last Sunday) that Verstappen will be able to start tomorrow on the second row alongside Räikkönen’s other Ferrari.

“If we can get a good start like Malaysia then we can get a good result, specifies the Dutchman. It's not such a bad result but I think the whole team expects a little better. We wanted to be in front of the Ferraris, we were very close, but the balance of our car was not quite perfect. »

Verstappen also clarifies where his RB12 seems to have failed. « In the slow corners where we are usually very strong, it didn't quite work for us today, comments the winner of the Spanish Grand Prix. It could be the changing conditions, but I'm not entirely sure. »

Daniel Ricciardo, recent winner in Malaysia, however, remains confident that Red Bull should be able to fight with Scuderia Ferrari. “I'm happy with our race pace and we should have a similar pace to Ferrari.

They should be our real rivals. We also expect to see Mercedes quite conservative and reduce their power in the race, so we'll see what happens. »