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Max Verstappen received praise from F1 pundit Naomi Schiff for pulling off a stunning pole position lap late in qualifying.
The qualifying session had been somewhat uncharacteristic for Max, as he seemed to struggle a little in the wet weather. He even almost lost out in Q2 but was safe enough to proceed to Q3.
In Q3 as well, Max Verstappen was beaten by Charles Leclerc on the first qualifying run. On the second qualifying run, however, the Red Bull driver set the record straight. Being one of the last to complete his lap, Verstappen secured pole position by 8 tenths of a second, leaving everyone playing catchup.
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He was close to nine tenths of a second quicker than Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, and the Mexican was third fastest.
Sky Sports F1 pundit Naomi Schiff praised Max Verstappen for the turnaround and admitted that the driver would have been taking a lot of risks on his qualifying lap.
She said:
"It looked very tight for Max, he was right down to 10th in Q2 and for him to bounce back like that was fantastic. For him to be eight tenths ahead of the rest...he must have been taking some big risks to have that gap."
She added:
"The drivers behind him like Hamilton and Norris - they love these conditions but were not able to match that time. So hats off to Verstappen again. A bit of a shame the conditions didn't stay more tricky because it would have thrown a real spanner in the works."
Max Verstappen looks back at the qualifying session
Looking back at qualifying, Verstappen admitted that the conditions were tricky, and it wasn't until his last lap that he felt confident enough to push the car the way he would have liked.
As quoted by Sky Sports, Verstappen said:
"It was very tight. The conditions were tricky and the track was drying quickly. On my final lap in Q2 I didn't have the confidence to push more and I was very lucky to be in P10."
He added:
"In Q3 you have two tyre sets and can push a bit more, risk more and that's what we did on that final lap. I know I have to drop back on Sunday with the penalty I have, so it was the best I could do today."
Max Verstappen will be hoping to extend his run of wins to eight this weekend as he continues to dominate the sport.
