Verstappen doesn't know if a victory is possible: 'I'm starting on the inside now'

Max Verstappen was the fastest driver on the field all weekend, until Lance Stroll took pole position in Q3. The Dutchman therefore wonders whether it was wise to switch to the intermediate tires.

We normally see the Mercedes black arrows dominating every race weekend, but in Turkey it was the RB16 of Verstappen that was miles ahead of the rest. At one point the Dutchman was even four seconds faster than his competitors. However, that didn't give him pole position, as conditions improved in Q3 and he had to switch to the intermediate tires.

Verstappen just wonders if that was the right choice for him. "The track was definitely leaning towards intermediates but for me it just felt so poor, I think if I’d just stayed out on the wets I could have done the same lap time. Clearly something was not working for us today on that tyre," explained the Red Bull driver in the FIA press conference.

Victory not a certainty

Despite Max Verstappen not being able to get pole position, the situation looks good for him tomorrow, with Mercedes in sixth and ninth place. Still, the Dutchman doesn't know if a victory is that simple. "We’ll find out tomorrow, to be honest. I think Lewis and Valtteri are a bit further down but I’m also starting now on the inside so that’s not very lovely."