The Dutchman tastes bitterness
Mercedes continues the spotless streak of pole positions in this 2026 between those signed by the official team and those achieved by Lando Norris, today extraordinary in placing his MCL40 ahead of everyone despite a mistake at the last corner.
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Max Verstappen did not go beyond the third overall time, 140 thousandths behind Norris. The Red Bull driver set the best partial in the middle sector, but lost ground in the third.
The four-time world champion was powerless in front of a software that does not allow Red Bull to have enough energy in the third sector.
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“Our software is limited and this holds us back a bit – said Verstappen – we don’t have the correct energy distribution in the third sector. I wanted to change it, but it’s not possible. It’s not a tire problem that we lose in the third sector, the tires could push all the way, but we don’t have the right energy distribution. Am I bitter? As I said, I would have wanted a different energy distribution, but it was not possible to have it.”
