Verstappen lowers expectations: 'Mercedes not going full throttle then'

Max Verstappen will kick off the Sakhir Grand Prix from third place tomorrow, but it could easily have been P1 or P2. The gap to the Mercedes-drivers was extremely narrow, with Valtteri Bottas and George Russell only fractions ahead. His third place on the grid can provide some opportunities, the Dutchman explains.

"I always try to have fun. In general, I do", explains Verstappen in front of Ziggo Sport's camera. The expected chaos did not materialise in qualifying and that fits the expectations of the Dutchman. "Most of the chaos should have come in Q1, because then you also have most of the cars on the track. Fortunately, many people went for a different strategy, going out sooner or later".

Mercedes purposefully slow?

In that first part, there was also a striking moment, when Lando Norris went completely off the track to avoid the Dutchman. "You can't see who's driving behind you as a driver, so he must have got something in his ear that I was coming." The Dutchman starts from third place, which he also did last week during the Grand Prix of Bahrain. It didn't matter much if the Dutchman had performed better than third place, he explains. 

"That is due to the shorter circuit, but I don't think Valtteri had a great lap at the end either. That also explains why we were so close in the end. In any case, I had a better start from third place than from second place last time, so we'll see." Verstappen looked strong on Friday, but expects Mercedes to be holding something back.

"Mercedes often doesn't really push during those longruns, so we'll have to wait and see. Whether I drive a good race depends on the situation, if you've had a good race and you finish third, you can be satisfied with that. Or P2 or P1, that depends. You always have to analyse whether you have got the best out of it", the Dutchman says.