Verstappen shrugs: "It is what it is"

"Yes, in the end, it was very close," Verstappen kicks off at Viaplay. "It's always a bit in the details and they weren't quite top-notch in Q3, that's part of it. It can't always be perfect, but on the other hand, I think we have a very good race car. I would have preferred to be first, but it's not the end of the world."

So the fourteenth pole position is out of grasp for now, and Verstappen explains what he was ultimately lacking in his final two runs. "I had quite a good balance in Q2, but it didn't quite come out in Q3. Then you see on your own delta that you lose half a tenth somewhere, for example. It just didn't come out quite right. It is what it is," he shrugged.

In recent years Verstappen mainly fought with Mercedes on the track, but that will be different in 2022. Now Ferrari is the big rival. "There is definitely tension, which is also nice," he said. Whether he would rather take on the Italian superpower than Mercedes? "It doesn't matter that much, I do have a good relationship with Charles and Carlos, they are also more my own age," Verstappen said.