Max Verstappen: Changing the settings didn't help

      Max Verstappen qualified fourth at Spa. The current world champion stated that he had the potential to start third, but the car’s balance was far from optimal.

      Yuki Tsunoda made it to the final qualifying session for the first time since the Miami Grand Prix. Seventh place is his best starting position with Red Bull Racing.

      Max Verstappen (4th): "We changed the aero downforce setup before qualifying. I hoped it would improve the car’s handling, but it didn’t, as the balance was not ideal.

      The car’s behavior was a bit strange, so we need to figure everything out. Throughout qualifying, I couldn’t attack at full power. At Spa, the car needs to turn like you want, but I couldn’t get that right.

      I would prefer a third place starting position. Most likely, that reflects our speed today, but many things didn’t go well in qualifying’s final stages.

      If it rains tomorrow, the race will be very challenging. But let’s wait and see what the weather will be like. Ideally, I’d like to start third and fight with the McLaren drivers. It’s difficult, but we’ll see what happens in the race."

      Yuki Tsunoda (7th): "Today’s qualifying went much better than in previous races! Thanks to the team – they fitted new parts on my car at the very last moment. That was enough for me to start from a position different from those in the recent races. As I said, many thanks to the team.

      The updates definitely allowed us to make a big step forward. We knew in theory they should help, and I’m glad I could confirm that on track. Now I’m looking forward to the race."