Verstappen takes the challenge to McLaren after SHOCK pole: 'Let's have some fun'

"It was tricky out there with the wind throughout the whole of qualifying," said Verstappen acknowledging the challenges of the session. "Q1, Q2, Q3, it was all shifting around a bit. Yeah, a bit different than around here. With these cars, you know, it's extremely sensitive to it. So, yeah, just trying to tidy it up throughout the whole qualifying and, that final lap was good enough."

The combination of the track, the cars, the conditions, made it hard for Verstappen to nail that last lap, but all in all he savoured the fight. "But, this is a proper track. In qualifying when you have to go flat out and all these corners, you have to be really committed and that's really enjoyable."

Verstappen trimmed downfforce, making himthe fastest driver down the straights and around the fastest corners. A decision that seems to have paid off with pole for the Dutchman. "We're quite quick on the straight, which of course is not that easy in the high-speed corners to manage, but we did today, luckily. Of course, we have to wait and see what tomorrow will do, if there's a bit of rain around or not. But I'm happy of course with our qualifying. It's a big boost for the team as well. And yeah, just excited to go racing now tomorrow."

Verstappen will start ahead of both McLarens, can the Dutchman keep them behind to nab his third win of the season? "Difficult to say,but we'll try. We're going to go racing and we're going to have fun and we're going to do the best we can," the Dutchman concluded.