Verstappen claims turbo issues cost him British GP pole

Max Verstappen insists that a turbo lag issue made all the difference as he finished P4 in qualifying for the British Grand Prix, just two tenths of a second down on pole sitter Valtteri Bottas.

The Red Bulls had been somewhat off the pace for much of practice, but responded when qualifying begun, with both Verstappen and team-mate Pierre Gasly producing improved times.

And in the end the Dutchman felt his car was capable of landing pole, were it not for the turbo issue that left him just adrift of the Mercedes of Bottas.

He said to MBC: "In a way I’m very happy because before qualifying I was really not happy.

“I think we had a really good set-up but we had turbo lag the whole day so all the time in the low-speed corners the engine was not responding.

“The whole weekend I was struggling for balance. Around here in all those fast corners when you don’t have the balance you just lose lap time. So we improved that in qualifying and the car was great.

“So when you look at the lap time and you’re that close to pole, it’s a bit bitter sweet I would say as those issues definitely cost me one and a half or two-tenths so I could have fought for pole.”

Gasly produced one of his most positive drives of the season so far, finishing in P5 ahead of Sebastian Vettel and just three tenths down on his Red Bull colleague.

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