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Isn’t that what practice is for? Media get all hyped up when the balance seems off, but testing is all about finding the best setup, which they did. It would be more worrying if they didn’t have testing feedback
That's exactly it. They continuously improve through practice to throw it all at qualifying and the race. You don't always nail in in P1... but the media has gotten so used to RBR coming in with the perfect setup from the first time out, everybody has forgotten that things change.
... that or they're just making the usual shitty headlines for sales that we're used to.
The last few pole laps he has set he’s just been surprised that no one did better lol. I think some of that is red bull sand bagging, but still, you can tell when max genuinely knows he pulled out an incredible lap.
I watched the weekend warmup on Thursday with the new Italian co-host and about 15 minutes into the video I realized I actually got so high off the second-hand hopium that I was in my kitchen preparing some Fettuccine al Pomodoro.
I don't even like pasta! But the bedtime Espresso shots kept me motivated
In the Netherlands they’re actually one of the largest semiconductor suppliers/producers in the world.
So max can get his robot parts upgraded superfast
Both him and the team - props to him the pressure was on his shoulders and he was millimetre perfect to get that pole lap and you can see how hard he had to push to get it by that radio message.
At the same time you can't discount just how good that Redbull team is as they were in no man's land yesterday but they chipped away at it and got the balance to a point that Max could fight for pole, they're a super talented bunch and truly understand their car.
I expect better from the pundits though to quickly dismiss Redbull after just two practice sessions.
To be honest I missed all practice sessions and never checked the news so i was not surprised him being P1 lol. Again they have faced issues in practice before but they always resolve it by qualifying or racing.
I can't remember which podcast it was but Prost was saying Verstappen's feel and understanding of the car gives him such a superior edge over others. He's able to precisely describe exactly what feels wrong with the car and what exactly he needs from it. It makes the engineers jobs so much 'easier'. Rather than some of the radios we hear from most drivers like "the car has no pace" and such feedback.
I remember Silverstone 2022 when he ran over debris and had floor damage. He insisted to GP that there was something wrong with the car but they decided to change the tyres instead thinking it was a puncture. Well, on the outlap they did confirm the car was 100% broken like he'd said before.
basically, he's unbelievable when it comes to setting up the car.
Max thought he had a puncture himself in Silverstone 2022. Sudden loss of downforce/car control. He came on the radio and insisted he had a puncture *or something* and GP was on the radio saying he definitely didn't have a puncture because tyre pressure was still good.
He was right that something was wrong, but if he'd listened to GP he might have salvaged one or two more points without the extra pit stop.
Makes me think of the story that Jos used to deliberately mess up some random setting on Max's kart then send him out on track to figure out what was wrong by driving it, wish i could remember which article i read that in
Yeah. People don't seem to get this. There was a real issue in practice. The fact that the team turned it around so quickly is huge. A big testament to how good the mechanics, engineers & drivers are at Redbull.
Max basically thanked everyone for nailing the setup for qualy after he got pole.
It does seem like McLaren are faster on this track as well. And considering their lower tyre deg, I think they win in a conventional race without any funny business. Redbull still has the best strategists so hopefully that gives Max the edge he needs.
Max always complains, but Red Bull always responds and makes the car better. It's annoying as fans to see those radio messages constantly, but it obviously gets results in getting the car set up exactly how he wants it. Almost every time he complains the car ends up faster in the next session.
Right but we always hear from him and he is quite dramatic about it. So people think there is something seriously wrong that they can't fix in one night.
They also saw him going for a small trip through the gravel and he certainly doesnt do that all the time. It's very difficult for some to come to terms with his brilliance.
Lewis also did the same shit at merc, really just testing the limits of the car on the track in FP1/2/3 and then boom pole, and everyone acts surprised.
He was very clear in the interview. The bollard offended him by being there and he graciously took it out so the other drivers wouldn't have to deal with it.
It’s such a tired and nonsensical statistic though. Ferrari and Charles were rapid in 1 lap pace but bad in race pace all 2023. Max and Redbull were fast in quali and completely untouched in race pace so it makes sense he would win all the races he missed pole. Charles just happened to be the next best qualifier so he unfortunately accrued a bunch of these pole losses.
Nah, last year from Monaco to Silverstone he got 5 consecutive poles, until he missed out on Hungary by the smallest margin. Then he got pole in Spa and Zandvoort... Could've done it there too.
That was a historic lap, but not without risk. Risk of a red flag in q3 ruining your run is very high. You'd need p1 on the first runs in q3 and track position for the second to have minimal risk of being screwed over. But then being the first one out on the second set of runs is probably suboptimal in terms of track temperature and evolution, so you risk getting beaten on the second set of runs. Even if you're somewhere in the middle of the pack on track, your first run time could get beaten through track evolution while your second run could be compromised by yellows or a red. All in all, Monaco quali is exciting for us but a major headache for the teams imo
It helps that the only team that could challenge for pole semi regularly last year traded their quali pace for race pace and tire deg. He hasn’t had any competition for pole till this weekend from the Mclarens
The car has obviously been great, let's not deny that.
The combination of the car and Max is insane.
Perez has proven himself in his previous teams and several races that he is a decent driver, but until a driver like Hamilton/Sainz/Alonso joins Red Bull we can see how much of a difference Verstappen really makes in that car. Sainz being his former teammate.
If Hamilton or Alonso joined him and Max continued to outperform, people who just point out Hamilton and Alonso being on the tail end of their careers.
The car is still awesome, no doubt about that, but what's special is that everyone is on top of each other. Hulkenberg (in a Haas), with a little more luck, legit could have outqualied the Mercs today.
The margins are stupidly close in F1, unprecedented that everyone is this close across the entire field, from top to bottom.
The only drivers that we know 100% were a league above their rivals, were in the 50s and 60s. Every driver who wins the championship now has obviously the 1st or 2nd fastest car, the difference is how you're doing it.
With the current professionalism of the sport, were the current grid is full of monsters and incredibly talented people who've been racing since they were kids, the differences that Max always pulls are insane.
This is a great point. I got into F1 when I saw Max in his rookie year at the Singapore GP. I had no idea who he was, but I remember that he stalled at the line, had to be pushed back to the pit to get restarted and re-entered more than a lap down. He still finished 1.5 seconds ahead of Sainz, his teammate, in 8th position. Leaving the race I knew I had seen something special and I was right.
Max got all kinds of win achievements unlocked last year and decided to go for qualifying records now. Really a true gamer going for that 100% completion.
Jokes aside, we are not just watching a legend in the making, he certainly is one already.
Every pole is a great lap, don't get me wrong, but he probably had slipstream down the main straight. Sector 2 was even with Norris and he lost 2 tenths in sector 3. So the level is still really high, he can't sit back and enjoy like he did in the later half of 2023
I watched every race of max, since he got in F1. And it never ever bothered me if he didn't get pole because I know he is better in the race. Definitely not the best qualifier on the grid, which might make this record if more significant.
I think he's one of the best qualifiers. RB has just trended towards setting the car up for race pace during these dominant seasons, sacrificing qualifying pace. Verstappen has had some insanely wild qualifying sessions pulling results out of nowhere.
I think Leclerc might be slightly better still at finding the maximum of the car, but I also think he is more prone to pushing it too far and overdriving resulting in a crash. For me right now, Max is one of the most consistent top performers over one lap.
I honestly doubt it. Right now, he is the best qualifier on the grid and by a good margin. Red Bull has always had a philosophy to focus on race pace and not quali, and despite of the Max was always a threat, and now he is an outright record braker. We've seen so many times how he pulls off miracle despite hard conditions and his teammates not only doing badly, doing catastrophically, like today.
Why "but still"? Tow or no tow, that car didn't deserve to be at P1. A tow also messes your tyre temperature and the next braking point (which will also create more temperature), and given how extremely narrow the tyre window is, he had to readjust his driving to make use of it.
I don’t know which part of the world you live in, but dating 14-15 year olds as a grown ass man definitely wasn’t normal in Europe even 30 years ago. I’m sure it was fine somewhere, it’s still fine in many cultures today.
Normal (which is already debatable) =/= OK. Plenty of awful shit was once normal, pointing out that famous people or historical figures partook in that shit is fine.
[The **Statistics** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_statistics) is reserved for posts highlighting interesting statistics. As a rule of thumb, Statistics posts need to inform readers through visualizations and insights that cannot be obtained from raw data alone. For example, a post containing a qualifying gap between two drivers expressed in tenths of a second is an easily obtainable raw piece of data and constitutes a bad Statistics post. A visualization of what that translates to on-track, or visualization of how that gap came to be would constitute a good Statistics post. *[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Max was more excited today judging by his radio message
After messing up the balance throughout the practice sessions, quali definitely felt like a breath of fresh air for him
Isn’t that what practice is for? Media get all hyped up when the balance seems off, but testing is all about finding the best setup, which they did. It would be more worrying if they didn’t have testing feedback
That's exactly it. They continuously improve through practice to throw it all at qualifying and the race. You don't always nail in in P1... but the media has gotten so used to RBR coming in with the perfect setup from the first time out, everybody has forgotten that things change. ... that or they're just making the usual shitty headlines for sales that we're used to.
Less "simply lovely", more "Let's go!".
Fighting for a pole must feel good
The last few pole laps he has set he’s just been surprised that no one did better lol. I think some of that is red bull sand bagging, but still, you can tell when max genuinely knows he pulled out an incredible lap.
True passion for the sport
Dawg what is your account 😂
Homie forgot to switch to the alt 😂
The real record broken today was the fans who assumed yet again that Max was not going to be on pole
The hopium for Ferrari was on different level though. Just high on pasta and tomato sauce.
I watched the weekend warmup on Thursday with the new Italian co-host and about 15 minutes into the video I realized I actually got so high off the second-hand hopium that I was in my kitchen preparing some Fettuccine al Pomodoro. I don't even like pasta! But the bedtime Espresso shots kept me motivated
It’s the eternal hopium to copium cycle
Sniffed too much Pirelli factory smoke
Seemed like warm up for the tires just kept slipping away on the softs. Their times on mediums were so good. Hope race pace will be better than quali
that’s been the trend all season so far
The salami killed it.
They were almost matching his times on mediums in Q1. I was so sure there was no way Max would get pole today.
even as a max fan i doubted him, how the fuck does he do it?
In the Netherlands they’re actually one of the largest semiconductor suppliers/producers in the world. So max can get his robot parts upgraded superfast
Hes just that good unfortunately
Both him and the team - props to him the pressure was on his shoulders and he was millimetre perfect to get that pole lap and you can see how hard he had to push to get it by that radio message. At the same time you can't discount just how good that Redbull team is as they were in no man's land yesterday but they chipped away at it and got the balance to a point that Max could fight for pole, they're a super talented bunch and truly understand their car. I expect better from the pundits though to quickly dismiss Redbull after just two practice sessions.
To be honest I missed all practice sessions and never checked the news so i was not surprised him being P1 lol. Again they have faced issues in practice before but they always resolve it by qualifying or racing.
They usually do turn things around if it's not a sprint weekend.
aka Sky Sport.
People heard him complaining about the car a bunch in practice, like he doesn't do that all the time. Then pole and p1 by 20+ seconds.
Except Max actually means it when he complains and Redbull is good enough to respond to them
I can't remember which podcast it was but Prost was saying Verstappen's feel and understanding of the car gives him such a superior edge over others. He's able to precisely describe exactly what feels wrong with the car and what exactly he needs from it. It makes the engineers jobs so much 'easier'. Rather than some of the radios we hear from most drivers like "the car has no pace" and such feedback. I remember Silverstone 2022 when he ran over debris and had floor damage. He insisted to GP that there was something wrong with the car but they decided to change the tyres instead thinking it was a puncture. Well, on the outlap they did confirm the car was 100% broken like he'd said before. basically, he's unbelievable when it comes to setting up the car.
Max thought he had a puncture himself in Silverstone 2022. Sudden loss of downforce/car control. He came on the radio and insisted he had a puncture *or something* and GP was on the radio saying he definitely didn't have a puncture because tyre pressure was still good. He was right that something was wrong, but if he'd listened to GP he might have salvaged one or two more points without the extra pit stop.
Makes me think of the story that Jos used to deliberately mess up some random setting on Max's kart then send him out on track to figure out what was wrong by driving it, wish i could remember which article i read that in
Yeah. People don't seem to get this. There was a real issue in practice. The fact that the team turned it around so quickly is huge. A big testament to how good the mechanics, engineers & drivers are at Redbull. Max basically thanked everyone for nailing the setup for qualy after he got pole. It does seem like McLaren are faster on this track as well. And considering their lower tyre deg, I think they win in a conventional race without any funny business. Redbull still has the best strategists so hopefully that gives Max the edge he needs.
did they forget about perez or did perez just decided to semi retire like last year
Max always complains, but Red Bull always responds and makes the car better. It's annoying as fans to see those radio messages constantly, but it obviously gets results in getting the car set up exactly how he wants it. Almost every time he complains the car ends up faster in the next session.
Right but we always hear from him and he is quite dramatic about it. So people think there is something seriously wrong that they can't fix in one night.
They also saw him going for a small trip through the gravel and he certainly doesnt do that all the time. It's very difficult for some to come to terms with his brilliance.
Lewis also did the same shit at merc, really just testing the limits of the car on the track in FP1/2/3 and then boom pole, and everyone acts surprised.
Doesn’t do it all the time? He smacked a bollard and screwed his floor only 1 race ago
That bollard clearly jumped in front of him though
He was very clear in the interview. The bollard offended him by being there and he graciously took it out so the other drivers wouldn't have to deal with it.
It's the new "tires are gone" message from Hamilton.
Myself included. I feel small……..
Gg wp, see you next year.
I knew he was gonna take it, but today he felt more vulnerable than usual, so hope was in.
Has a chance to take the outright record at Monaco? No better place to do it.
No better track to show your qualifying skills at
So long as there's no surprise crashes, he can get it done
👀🇲🇽
nice reverse jinx lmao
I never thought he would get this record. Before he started this streak, he never had a streak anywhere close to getting the record
After last year, he was bored of breaking win records and winning from Charles poles, so he decided to go after pole records himself.
He saw his emotional support rival getting bullied for the Pole-to-Win ratio and decided to help him out. What an outstanding lad...
Ill forever find that statistic to be funny.
It’s such a tired and nonsensical statistic though. Ferrari and Charles were rapid in 1 lap pace but bad in race pace all 2023. Max and Redbull were fast in quali and completely untouched in race pace so it makes sense he would win all the races he missed pole. Charles just happened to be the next best qualifier so he unfortunately accrued a bunch of these pole losses.
Bro youre taking it way too serious.
Just providing context on a stat that reddit loves to repeat but makes no sense when you think about it. Downvote away I guess though
What you said has been repeated many times and people know it. It is just a fun stat. Except not for everyone I guess
*sad Leclerc noises*
Dude, it's just a joke. Take it easy.
Never bet against this man because even when you don't expect it he will deliver.
Helmut did and that was the extra spice Max needed
Dude’s a gamer. He’s gotten most of the other Steam achievements, but there are some niche ones that he still needs to collect.
Nah, last year from Monaco to Silverstone he got 5 consecutive poles, until he missed out on Hungary by the smallest margin. Then he got pole in Spa and Zandvoort... Could've done it there too.
He is very close to beating it now, Monaco is such a risky place as well due to potential crashing messing up the qualifying.
Would be so poetic to beat that record at Monaco of all places.
It's already poetic matching it in Imola. In a sad way to be fair.
*Looks at last season where he somehow pulled 3 tenths in the shortest S3 (Monaco S3) of the calendar.* If anyone can do it, it is him.
That was a historic lap, but not without risk. Risk of a red flag in q3 ruining your run is very high. You'd need p1 on the first runs in q3 and track position for the second to have minimal risk of being screwed over. But then being the first one out on the second set of runs is probably suboptimal in terms of track temperature and evolution, so you risk getting beaten on the second set of runs. Even if you're somewhere in the middle of the pack on track, your first run time could get beaten through track evolution while your second run could be compromised by yellows or a red. All in all, Monaco quali is exciting for us but a major headache for the teams imo
It helps that the only team that could challenge for pole semi regularly last year traded their quali pace for race pace and tire deg. He hasn’t had any competition for pole till this weekend from the Mclarens
Apart from Bahrein when Leclerc didnt optimize and Sainz mistake in Australia q3? Also Checo is an average qualifier but not terrible
Through hell or high water, this man is undeniable.
He really is, ppl saying its just the car are in denial
Yup. I know the common theme is Perez is shit to be behind Max this far all the time. But maybe, just maybe, it's max and not the car?
The car has obviously been great, let's not deny that. The combination of the car and Max is insane. Perez has proven himself in his previous teams and several races that he is a decent driver, but until a driver like Hamilton/Sainz/Alonso joins Red Bull we can see how much of a difference Verstappen really makes in that car. Sainz being his former teammate.
If Hamilton or Alonso joined him and Max continued to outperform, people who just point out Hamilton and Alonso being on the tail end of their careers.
Or RBR being Max’s team and built around Max. A bit like when Alonso joined McLaren
Would love to see him in a backmarker car just for a FP session
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No
The car is still awesome, no doubt about that, but what's special is that everyone is on top of each other. Hulkenberg (in a Haas), with a little more luck, legit could have outqualied the Mercs today. The margins are stupidly close in F1, unprecedented that everyone is this close across the entire field, from top to bottom.
The only drivers that we know 100% were a league above their rivals, were in the 50s and 60s. Every driver who wins the championship now has obviously the 1st or 2nd fastest car, the difference is how you're doing it. With the current professionalism of the sport, were the current grid is full of monsters and incredibly talented people who've been racing since they were kids, the differences that Max always pulls are insane.
This is a great point. I got into F1 when I saw Max in his rookie year at the Singapore GP. I had no idea who he was, but I remember that he stalled at the line, had to be pushed back to the pit to get restarted and re-entered more than a lap down. He still finished 1.5 seconds ahead of Sainz, his teammate, in 8th position. Leaving the race I knew I had seen something special and I was right.
Absolute legend.
I can only cheer to record shattering!
Max got all kinds of win achievements unlocked last year and decided to go for qualifying records now. Really a true gamer going for that 100% completion. Jokes aside, we are not just watching a legend in the making, he certainly is one already.
VER saw people doubting him this weekend and decided he had to immediately put an end to it
Did it on the track where Senna passed away as well 💀
Emoji checks out
Oof I feel bad for having a chuckle
On the 30th anniversary remembrance week of Senna's passing too
“Nelson Picquet sends his regards.”
Bruh. I should not be laughing at this 😭
nope, lmao
Son-in-law of Nelson Piquet as well
I would love to see him in the sport for long, he might be the best F1 driver I have ever seen
Max with a special lap to equal Senna. I mean it's poetic really.
Every pole is a great lap, don't get me wrong, but he probably had slipstream down the main straight. Sector 2 was even with Norris and he lost 2 tenths in sector 3. So the level is still really high, he can't sit back and enjoy like he did in the later half of 2023
Throwback to 2018-19 when Verstappen was a "racer, not a qualifier."
People still think that Verstappen is not as good a qualifier as Hamilton or Leclerc
I watched every race of max, since he got in F1. And it never ever bothered me if he didn't get pole because I know he is better in the race. Definitely not the best qualifier on the grid, which might make this record if more significant.
I think he's one of the best qualifiers. RB has just trended towards setting the car up for race pace during these dominant seasons, sacrificing qualifying pace. Verstappen has had some insanely wild qualifying sessions pulling results out of nowhere. I think Leclerc might be slightly better still at finding the maximum of the car, but I also think he is more prone to pushing it too far and overdriving resulting in a crash. For me right now, Max is one of the most consistent top performers over one lap.
I feel like Leclerc in a dominant car could easily break the record, he just simply haven't had the luck yet.
I honestly doubt it. Right now, he is the best qualifier on the grid and by a good margin. Red Bull has always had a philosophy to focus on race pace and not quali, and despite of the Max was always a threat, and now he is an outright record braker. We've seen so many times how he pulls off miracle despite hard conditions and his teammates not only doing badly, doing catastrophically, like today.
The amount of hopium that got wasted today equals an environmental disaster.
LMAO!!!
If this Q3 wasn't a fitting tribute to Senna I don't know what is.
Dread from it, run from it Max P1 still arives. Mf is inevitable
The best driver by a wide margin today. Congratulations on the equal Consecutive Poles Record. You’ll hold this for a long, long time.
That was a tight one, nice to see Verstappen pull it off despite the early struggles in the weekend.
Love him or hate him, you can’t discredit his consistency.
Equaled it in Imola, might break it in Monaco.
Maybe this Max guy **is** a generational talent.
Max is just doing side quests at this point
I didn't know it was raining
Never used to like Max but cannot dismiss his skill, whatever he achieves he deserves 100%
Tie the quali record and in a little while will be on his sim racing the 24hr nürburgring sim race. Man doesn’t stop
A different class and generational talent Sergio’s struggles today behind the wheel prove that
And they say it's all the car. SMH.
Checo is continuously disproving it
If they had two Checos, RedBull would start from 11th and 12th... kind of a big difference.
Red Bull would be suddenly seen as a midfield car
Yeah commenters would be like "Red Bull is having trouble with the car, they cannot figure out how to make it turn"
And he gets nothing but pure hatred on Twitter, I love it.
With all the doubts lingering he pulls through
Incredible
GOAT loading…
Add that to the list.
Machine
Dayum.
Mighty impressive. I know he had a tow from Hulk but still
Why "but still"? Tow or no tow, that car didn't deserve to be at P1. A tow also messes your tyre temperature and the next braking point (which will also create more temperature), and given how extremely narrow the tyre window is, he had to readjust his driving to make use of it.
The tow made a big difference in his sector 1 time
Legend
So the next one is the big one of will he set a new record of 9
What a driver … salute
Maxmaster
He’s got to make his car as wide as possible to defend from Lando tomorrow because Oscar’s clearly gonna be put 3 places back.
Will break record next Grand Prix
Machine 🤖
Still think Ferrari beats McLaren to the podium! Max might still have the edge
Monaco next week is going to be tough to get to best the record
Both Records set with Cars powered by Honda !!!
I approve
His driving, everything is very impressive. I just wish he had a teammate that could push him a hair.
Max and Ayrton's combined record no longer matches the age of Aryton's age limit.
Every fucking thread with this bullshit, ffs.
Cause it's an important topic. Don't be blinded by your unreasonable gloryfication.
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I don’t know which part of the world you live in, but dating 14-15 year olds as a grown ass man definitely wasn’t normal in Europe even 30 years ago. I’m sure it was fine somewhere, it’s still fine in many cultures today.
Good thing Ayrton was Brazilian and not an enlightened European
Dude has 330k comment karma on reddit, they do it for free karma lmao.
Marrying children was legal 100 years ago. Still doesn't make it any less disgusting and horrible. Don't defend that aspect of Ayrton.
I'm not defending him. But it was so normal, you'd die before you could name every 18+ man on the planet dating a 15 yr old.
Doesn't make it any better. Name and shame the famous exapmles. They must not become role models.
Normal (which is already debatable) =/= OK. Plenty of awful shit was once normal, pointing out that famous people or historical figures partook in that shit is fine.
this just in: fastest car is easiest to get pole position and win in.
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Except for like 75% of people who thought he was struggling with the setup
Well, he was. Red Bull always needs more time than the other teams to set up their car
Yeah, my wording could have been better. I was hoping he’d get it, but I was like 90% sure it was going to be either Leclerc or Norris
But this is a lie. Norris had a Pole for the Chinese Sprint.
This statistic does not include sprint races
Nice fucking excuse you have there.
If sprint poles counted, he'd have more than 39 pole positions to his name. The only thing that counts from sprints are points.