Verstappen pleased with P2 in ‘super difficult’ conditions during Las Vegas Qualifying

Max Verstappen hailed his P2 result in Qualifying at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as “good for us”, with the Red Bull driver pleased to manage the “super difficult” conditions en route to a front row start.

Amid varied weather throughout the practice hours during the weekend, Qualifying got underway in the wet as the drivers struggled for grip and visibility.

While the pack were able to switch from the full wet tyres to the intermediates in the final segment, Verstappen could not quite beat Lando Norris in Q3, the Dutchman ending up some three-tenths adrift in second place.

Reflecting back on the session after jumping out of the car, Verstappen spoke about the challenges posed by the tricky conditions.

“It was really, really slippery out there,” the four-time World Champion said. “It’s already slippery in the dry but in the wet… it’s not fun, I can tell you that.

“I like to drive in the wet – this felt more like driving on ice, so it took a long time to get the tyres to work a bit."

“I did feel that we were a little bit more competitive on the extreme tyre, but the track is improving so we have to move on to the inter. I struggled a lot just to have any kind of grip, and the final lap of course you risk a little bit more, but it was still by far not enough to fight for first.

“But still to be on the front row I think is good for us. The lap felt alright, it’s just super difficult out there to get all the braking zones right and be on the limit of the tyres as well, but we did it. Excited for tomorrow, I hope the inside is okay in terms of grip, but we will see.”

Asked about the gapping required during Q1 amid particularly poor visibility, Verstappen conceded: “The visibility was also very tough. In these cars as well, the ground effect era, there’s a lot of weight that gets picked up from the floor, so when it rains there’s a lot of water and spray.

“That’s why you always want at least eight seconds, and I know it’s a lot, otherwise you don’t really see what’s happening in front of you.”