Verstappen: P4 best result possible given power deficit

Red Bull's Max Verstappen believes fourth place was the most he could have hoped for in qualifying for the German Grand Prix given the horsepower deficit on his Renault Formula 1 power unit.

Verstappen finished fourth in Q3, six-tenths of a second back from pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel and behind both Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen, who took second and third respectively.

Verstappen impressed in practice on Friday and seemed to be in the fight at the front before the final session, but played no part in the battle for pole. Nevertheless, he felt his result was the best the team could have hoped for given Ferrari and Mercedes power advantage.

"You have to be realistic, and when you are lacking so much horsepower, it is not going to solve itself. So fourth was the best we could do," Verstappen said.

"The car is quick and we are starting fourth, so hopefully we can be a bit closer to what we were in qualifying, and I am quite confident we can be.

"The temperatures are also going to be a bit different to Friday so it is still a bit of a guess for everyone."

Verstappen completed his first Q2 run on the Soft tyre and appeared to be angling for an alternative starting strategy, only to then go faster on the Ultrasofts later in the session, meaning he will begin the race on the fastest compound tomorrow.

"Because of the red flag I had to abort, and then we didn’t want to risk and maybe lose out in Q3," Verstappen explained.

"Looking back at it, we could have qualified on the Softs with everyone on Ultras. I think also in terms of start performance it will be better to be on an Ultra."