Verstappen: 'I don't expect it to be a very straightforward race'

After qualifying for the Hungarian GP, Max Verstappen is dissatisfied with two things: The balance of his car and the new F1 qualifying format. He says one has nothing to do with the other. Also, the Dutchman thinks he will still have the advantage on Sunday.

Verstappen's P2 and defeat against Lewis Hamilton on Saturday show Verstappen's dissatisfaction. The balance of the car was not right. That killed him over one lap. Although, the gap was only three thousandths of a second. On Sunday, with the same balance, Verstappen does expect to have good race pace. The race just remains tricky, as overtaking Mercedes may not be easy.

Speaking to the press after qualifying, the Dutchman said: "Yesterday was a lot colder as well. So it's not really that representative for what will happen tomorrow when it's even warmer. So normally, like Lewis said as well, when they are upfront in qualifying, normally their race car is also quite strong. So I don't expect it to be a very straightforward race. I expect us to be quick. But around here, it's not easy to pass, especially when you are quite closely matched in pace."

Later in the same press moment, Verstappen is asked if the new qualifying format has contributed to the poor balance of his RB19. That does not appear to be the case. Verstappen: "I mean, I'm just not happy with how my qualifying went just because of the balance. It has nothing to do with the gaps to other teams. But for sure, I think this qualifying was very exciting because everyone, well, every session, basically you didn't really know who was actually going to be quickest, right? So I think that's a good thing."