Verstappen left frustrated after pace slip in qualifying

Max Verstappen was left feeling frustrated following qualifying in Russia, as the Dutchman lines up on today's grid in P7. The 19-year-old's fastest time was 1.9 seconds down on Sebastian Vettel's, who will start the Grand Prix from pole position.

Verstappen admits it was a frustrating day yesterday, claiming that the final sector was where he lost most of his time to their rivals: "A frustrating day all things considered, we knew this would be one of our toughest tracks of the season but I had hoped qualifying would go better than that."

"Q1 was not too bad for us but in Q2 I had a really bad feeling with the rear tyres and I suddenly lost grip, especially going into the last sector. Sector 1 and 2 went well on most of my laps but the time just fell away in sector 3 as I just didn’t have the heat in the tyres.

"P5 was our target and that looked possible based on my first sector splits but the time I lost in the final sector cost me that goal. In Bahrain, our car had a good set-up and worked with the tyres but here the long straights make it very hard to go quick and compete at the front."

While the hopes of fifth place in qualifying couldn't turn into reality, Verstappen says that fifth is once again the aim for today's Grand Prix.

"The race should be a one-stop race and we will of course try to push and go forward but I just think the top four are too quick here," said Verstappen. "The target will remain P5 in the race which would be a good result for us here."

Fergal Walsh