Max Verstappen admits the focus will be on improving qualifying performance after a tricky Friday at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The home favourite was only fifth fastest in second practice at Zandvoort after abandoning his first flying lap on soft tyres due to the red flag caused by Nikita Mazepin.
In fact, the pace was set by Ferrari, who finished 1-2 with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, while championship rival Lewis Hamilton missed almost all the session after an oil system issue in his Mercedes.
As a result, Verstappen wasn’t particularly interested in the final standings, but he was certainly keen to eke some more time out of his Red Bull.
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“I don’t think it looks very representative from our side on the short run because already after one lap the tyres do drop off a bit,” he commented.
“Nevertheless, we will work on a few things where we were not entirely happy in the short run but the long run looks competitive.
“Of course, that is always very important but we also know that the starting position around here is very important, so we will have a look to see what we can do to make the short run a bit better.”
Verstappen’s pace was certainly there in the first sector at Zandvoort before dropping away compared to Mercedes on the rest of the circuit.
But asked if there were any specific areas of improvement, he was coy.
“Just a few things we need to understand better to get a bit more pace out of it but it is also not very representative because my lap was on a used set and the lap I had to abort I think would have been good enough for first,” he claimed.
“Then, of course, you talk a bit differently but it is never perfect.”
This weekend is a homecoming for Verstappen, with nearly all of the 70,000 fans allowed at Zandvoort cheering on the Dutch-Belgian driver.
And asked about the carnival atmosphere already at Zandvoort, Max said: “It was really enjoyable to see all of them in orange and having fun in the grandstands.
“Of course, the track [is enjoyable] as well. It is quite a short lap but a lot of fast corners as well so it was a fun day.”