28/11/2020
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen: "My lap felt pretty good but we just lacked a bit of rear grip in the low speed corners but overall it was quite a decent qualifying. Of course I would have liked to fight for pole but if that is not possible I think it is ok to start third and on the clean side of the grid. Let's see how we go tomorrow in the race because it's very hard on tyres here so hopefully we've made the right compromise on that. We have different tyres to choose from so hopefully that works to our favour but we'll see. It's always difficult to say if we can fight Mercedes and I definitely think they picked up their pace today but I will try and keep as close as possible and hopefully find an opportunity."
Alex Albon: "It feels good to equal my best quali, I did want more from the session but if you look how it was 24 hours ago, this was a good result. Starting on the second row puts us in a good position to take the fight to Mercedes. Coming from FP3, the car was feeling really strong and I was ready to push hard in qualifying. We were surprisingly quick today compared to yesterday but I haven't done a long run yet so let's see how that goes tomorrow! I'll be starting on the mediums tomorrow, I think the deg will be high so managing the tyres will be crucial. It will be a fun race for the fans to watch, that's for sure."
Christian Horner: "It was a solid qualifying session from both drivers with third and fourth our best result at this circuit in the hybrid era. We thought we might be able to split the two Mercedes with Max but we just missed out by a tenth in the end. Nonetheless Max in third and a good qualifying for Alex to line up alongside him in fourth are great starting positions for tomorrow's Grand Prix, especially at a track where overtaking is possible, so hopefully we're set up for an exciting race. It was a good recovery for Alex, particularly after yesterday's incident, and with fourth he matches his best qualifying result of the season."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Bahrain, here.