Max Verstappen to start Italian Grand Prix on front row

It was very close all the way through quali and Ferrari have been quick throughout the whole weekend. From our side we did everything we could to be as competitive as possible and I was happy with the lap in Q3, so nothing really to complain about. It was just not enough for pole but we know we have a good race car. It is all about the race pace and if we have better race pace, like normal, we will try to put the pressure on them. I am happy with how we set up the car for the race and hopefully that will pay off on Sunday. I know the win is something that could happen. If it’s 10 in a row that would be amazing, but we have to execute the race in the best possible way to achieve that.

Today wasn’t a great day. Adding a new engine and missing a large part of FP3 today was not ideal as it meant that we didn’t get to run the soft tyres before going into qualifying, so we were less prepared for Q3. Overall, I don’t think we maximised our performance and showed what we could do today. The Team, however, did a tremendous job turning the car around in time for qualifying. We had a good Friday and great race pace yesterday but today we just didn’t capitalise on our performance. Tomorrow I am optimistic that we can still show our strong pace and we will do our very best to come through the field.

We struggled a lot yesterday, but straight away in FP3, the car felt much better. We made a big step and quite some changes to the car, and that worked well today. I’m pretty frustrated and disappointed with myself, because I think I could’ve done a better lap at the end. I apologise to the team, as I think there was the pace in the car to get to Q3. The team did well, and the track position was good in qualifying, I lost some time in a couple of places, so the frustration is more towards myself. For tomorrow, the race pace doesn’t seem too bad, and we’re just outside the top ten, so we just have to put it together, and points can be possible.

Overall, we’ve been progressing over the sessions, building up my confidence. You can feel the limit, but it’s also about knowing the step up in grip between the different compounds, if you make changes what it’s going to do to the car, and that just takes some time. With both cars being so close to Q3, we definitely had the potential to make it, but unfortunately, Alonso went off the track right in front of me, so there was some gravel on my line. However, it would’ve been tight regardless. I’m happy to have made some improvements and I’m sure there’s more to come. It’s a good position to be starting in, and with both cars so close to each other, I’m positive about points for the team tomorrow.