06/10/2023
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen: "I'm very happy to be on pole.
"The tarmac was quite slippery so I was really having to build up lap after lap, but I think we were in a good window and we were improving quite nicely through each run. I think we also made the right calls after FP1 heading into qualifying. Tomorrow will be interesting, with the different session times and temperatures, but let's see what we can do. Overall though, I think we can all be happy with the performance of the car today."
Sergio Perez: "It was quite difficult out there today, we struggled for balance a lot and we had so many issues that I couldn't really fix any of them. Every corner was different and the conditions here made it tricky. It is not over, it is obviously going to be very difficult to pass in the race here, especially with the track conditions we currently have but we will see what we are able to do and recover from there on Sunday. Tomorrow is a new day and we have the chance to put in a better performance across the Sprint format."
Christian Horner: "A session of exceeded track limits for many drivers today, not least Checo. He drove well and was through to Q3, but then unfortunately removed from Q3 after having his lap time deleted. It has been a challenge but it has been the same for everyone, the circuit is evolving quickly and of course the teams have only had one session to sort the cars out, but now the set ups are locked in for the rest of the weekend. For Max the first run was such a strong lap he nailed it in the first sector, if not the first corner. He then tried to take a little bit more out on the next lap and made a mistake but with that banker, it was enough today to see him through. We have had a very strong race car all year and I would expect a strong race car again on both Saturday evening and Sunday evening."
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