Adopting the unusual strategy of going for three separate runs in the final phase of today's qualifying session, Max Verstappen's hopes of a front or second row start were dashed when he spun off into the gravel in the final corner of his final run, just moments after Romain Grosjean has spun further back bringing out the yellow flags that would prevent any other drivers improving.

Speaking after the session, the Red Bull driver, who qualified sixth but will start fifth as a result of Lewis Hamilton's grid penalty, held his hand up to getting it wrong.

"In Turns 1 and 3, everything went well but then there was a yellow flag coming out of Turn 3 so I couldn't get my DRS and I lost two-and-a-half tenths," he explained. "I was only one-and-a-half tenths above my time and I kept pushing.

"Through Turn 6, I was almost zero so I thought, 'OK this can still be a good lap at least to move up to fifth or whatever', but then in Turn 7, I went a bit too early on the throttle and I lost the rear.

"These things happen," he admitted, "normally with a yellow flag your lap is finished anyway but I still tried to just get a tenth out of it."

Indeed, the youngster admitted that on his previous runs it was Turn 3 that was causing him the most problems.

"I had difficulty getting a good line," he said, "so I tried different lines and, actually, in Q3 it got even more tricky.

"My first run, that was the problem why I lost time, and then on the second run I clipped the inside kerb in Turn 1, so I was not very happy with myself."

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