Verstappen “left everything out there” to Qualify Fifth for 2024 Las Vegas GP – Sport Grill

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is pleased he “left everything out there” to qualify fifth for the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. 

Knowing that he can win a fourth consecutive F1 title in Las Vegas if he outscores Lando Norris by just two points, Verstappen was one second off the pace in the opening two practice sessions due to an incorrect rear wing size.

Red Bull consequently opted to chop parts of the rear wing off which paid dividends after a “slow” start to FP3, as Verstappen recovered to qualify fifth which left him pleased at having left his best on the track in Qualifying.

“I am ultimately happy with how it went; I left everything out there and we ended up in P5.”

Verstappen however is slightly cautious about how competitive his race pace will be after he struggled with both his tyres and long run pace, especially on the straights.

“The tyres are our main issue as we were struggling quite a lot with the grip throughout the day. Our long runs have not been that great and we were too slow on the straight.

“Everything looks a lot better than yesterday and hopefully with the things that we changed on the car, we are a bit more competitive tomorrow in the race.

“Let’s hope that the changes will make an impact and we can put together a good performance tomorrow.”

Team Principal, Christian Horner echoed Verstappen’s feelings about how much of a “challenge” the RB20 car is to drive in “low temperatures”,

Horner though warned that “… the way the tyres behave between qualifying and the race are totally different challenges,” as he tipped the top eight qualifiers to be in the mix for a “very exciting” victory depending on strategies.