Verstappen makes brutally honest Red Bull admission ahead of Belgian Grand Prix

The Dutch driver, who had kicked off his weekend at the Ardennes forest with an impressive P1 through the first practice session, was largely on par with the front-runners through both the second and third practice sessions. However, turning the page to the first competitive session of the weekend – qualifying – Verstappen had to rely on the slipstream offered by teammate Isack Hadjar, who is poised to start at the end of the grid, to log lap times good enough to keep him at the front end of the grid.

However, despite the tow, Verstappen was still three-tenths off the benchmark time of 1:44.361 set by Kimi Antonelli. In the aftermath of qualifying, though, and with his sights set on Sunday's race, the Dutch driver did not hold back his thoughts on how he expects his race to unfold. Speaking to the media during the post-qualifying press conference, Verstappen admitted he expects his race to be one where he tries to keep the pack behind him, rather than focus on the driver ahead.

"Difficult at the start, I guess, as well. Plus, honestly, I just want to do my own race. I mean, the gap, even in qualifying with a massive tow, is still over three tenths, so I don't really expect to race them tomorrow. I think it's more for me looking in the mirrors and fighting them, or trying to fight them, but mainly just trying to do my own race and see where we end up," Verstappen noted.

Despite missing out on pole position, Verstappen was still pleased with Red Bull teammate Hadjar for the slipstream he offered him during qualifying. The four-time champion, who was asked how close the tow from Hadjar was, admitted it was close, but noted that Hadjar did an "amazing" job.

Ahead of the Grand Prix in Spa, Verstappen has opted to be largely measured about what to expect from the race. The 28-year-old noted how tricky the 44 laps around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit can prove to be, with tyre degradation potentially playing a role in how things unfold. The Dutch driver, however, noted how his sight remains set on getting the best out of his race. "It's always tough around here with the tyres and the long runs. I'll just do my best and see if we can hang in there or not."