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Max Verstappen was not too bothered by the P3 qualifying for the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP sprint. The Red Bull driver was quite competitive throughout the session. It did appear that just like Friday, it was going to come right down to the wire between the two Red Bull drivers and Charles Leclerc.
Once again, just like on Friday, it was Charles Leclerc who came out on top and secured pole position for the first-ever sprint in Baku. Max Verstappen, on the other hand, did not have the ideal first run. He made a mistake in sector two and that cost him the lap.
The second lap on the same set of tires was never going to be ideal and as a result, while everyone tried to improve, it was just not enough. Max Verstappen was also outqualified by Sergio Perez and hence he will start the sprint in P3.
Considering all of this, Verstappen was still not too bothered as he felt the car was good enough to compete in the race. He told Sky Sports F1:
"Everything was going quite well. I think the pace was good but first lap in SQ3 I had a big moment in five and six and then the tyres are really hot and I had a moment in seven. On the big lap with the most grip we had a terrible sector two so that was not fantastic."
He added:
"We managed to do another lap and not too many people seemed to be able to pull out (more) so I think the pace is good. Bit unfortunate to be P3 but with this heat and how the tyres are behaving I don't think it will be a ststraightforwardprint. So it's still all to play for. I'm not worried, in the race we can fight."
Max Verstappen vs Sergio Perez vs Charles Leclerc will be interesting
The first two days at Baku have set up a very intriguing battle between Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and Sergio Perez.
While Ferrari's race pace still has a major question mark over it, if Leclerc is able to hold his own against Verstappen, we're looking at what would be a very impressive battle for the win between two of the best drivers on the grid.
The Sprint on Saturday will give the first indication of what to expect from the main race on Sunday.
