Verstappen on the start: 'Then you can throw everything out the window'

Max Verstappen will start Sunday's Italian Grand Prix from pole position following Valtteri Bottas' engine change. Despite the first starting spot, the Red Bull Racing driver is not 100% sure yet. The start will be the most important moment of the race.

Verstappen got away well at the start of sprint qualifying: "Yes, they're going really well this year anyway. And that was important too, of course. Especially on a weekend where we're not fast enough you have to find other ways to solve the problem. At least that's what we did. Most points will be given tomorrow of course. But in any case a positive day," said the Dutchman at Ziggo Sport.

"Of course you have to focus well on the start. You can plan what you want. It's the same with a strategy. You can think of everything in advance, but if you have a bad start, you can throw everything out the window again," Verstappen continued.

"Of course it was no reason for me to take extreme risks either. So I thought I'd get out of that corner OK myself. As long as I don't have any pressure from behind I thought it was fine. They are just very fast and this is not our track. But we gave everything and they didn't go far. That's the good thing about tomorrow. Those guys have to come from behind. So if I can hopefully pull one in the beginning. Who knows I can hold on to that," concludes the 23-year-old driver.