Marko has explanation for Verstappen's struggles in Q3

Max Verstappen was the favourite to take pole position before the qualifying session in Imola. His faster lap in the third free practice on Saturday morning was very promising. In the last part of qualifying, it didn't quite work out. Helmut Marko knows why.

Verstappen made mistakes, but Perez strong as a rock

Nobody could have imagined that Perez would be so close to Verstappen, let alone that he would beat the Dutchman in qualifying. Verstappen must have made a mistake or had bad luck on the road, you might say. That was also the case.

"In his first run Max ran into Stroll in the first sector," Marko explained to Sky Germany. "In his second run, he made a couple of mistakes that caused him to lose about two tenths. Nevertheless, a very strong performance from Perez. It's impressive to see, especially as it's only his second race for us."

After a difficult start in Bahrain, it is indeed fair to say that Perez has made an excellent recovery. A second-place finish is the best starting position of his career. The only downside is that it means he has to start on the dirty side of the track.