F1 Today | Verstappen finally feels good in the RB21, Tsunoda's crash has consequences

22:58, 17 May

byNorberto Mujica

That's a Saturday full of F1 action wrapped up and GPblog brings you the most relevant news in its daily round up: F1 Today.

Verstappen 'held back' in quali but fires up small hopes of a win tomorrow

Max Verstappen qualified in P2 for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and states the tyres held him back in his bid to fight for pole.

Ultimately, Oscar Piastri put his MCL39 on pole. Nevertheless Verstappen wasn't far off. What was the difference? Pirelli's new C6 compound.

"I think compared to yesterday we improved a lot again. The car was a lot nicer to drive. The only problem I think I had in qualifying was basically the faster I wanted to go, the more problems that I had with the tyres just overheating," said the Dutchman to media, including GPblog, after qualifying.

"That was just holding me back. In Q3 in already run one, and then when I tried to go faster, basically on the second run, Sector one was great and then I just ran out of tyres. I just started understeering more and I just tried to keep the lap together really."

"But that's a bit of a shame, I think. You don't really have the tyres to qualify on properly. And, yeah, of course, for tomorrow, we want to make sure that we have the tyres in a window."

Marko reveals Tsunoda crash could have 'major implications' for Red Bull Racing

Helmut Marko thinks Max Verstappen has a better chance of winning in Imola. The Austrian also discussed Yuki Tsunoda's crash at German Sky."I don't think tyre wear will be a big problem tomorrow (Sunday). We have to see if we can gain something at the start or with the strategy, because overtaking will be very difficult," the Red Bull Racingadvisor said after qualifying.

Verstappen himself was also satisfied with second place after qualifying."Let's see. The previous race wasn't really a fight. Hopefully we can find some pace, have a better balance in the car and can manage the tyres better," Max himself said.