Max Verstappen hails “on fire” Red Bull: “It’s been a while since I’ve felt like this”

Max Verstappen has described Red Bull as “on fire” after a dominant performance in F1 qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Verstappen claimed pole position at the Red Bull Ring by over four-tenths - a remarkable gap given the short nature of the Austrian circuit.

The Dutchman was in a league of his own as he secured the 40th pole of his F1 career.

Christian Horner described Verstappen as “absolutely mighty” over team radio.

Horner: "Well done mate, that was mighty, absolutely mighty."

Verstappen replied: “On fire, that qualifying, car was really really strong guys. Nice improvement again, really really good.”

Prior to Austria, it had been a trickier run of races for Red Bull with McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes all a regular threat.

However, Red Bull were back to their best on home soil.

“I think the whole session went really well,” Verstappen said. “The car was in a better window. I could push a bit more, rely on the grip of the car, the balance. It was very enjoyable.

“I was just trying to progress through Q1 without using a new set. And that worked. And then from there, we just tried to fine-tune the balance here and there a little bit. But every lap that I did was feeling good.

“And then it's all about, of course, trying to just nail every corner. It's been a while that I've felt like this in the car and also looking at the gap. The last few races, I've always been very close in front or behind. So this was definitely very positive, I think, for the team.”

Verstappen refused to call his pole lap perfect but was pleased with the progress Red Bull managed to make after the sprint.

“It was good,” he added. “There are probably always things that can be done better, for sure, when I look back at the lap. I felt confident. I knew that if I did a solid lap, it was going to be good enough for pole.

“And that's what I did today. And that's what matters. We definitely worked hard as a team to try and be more competitive compared to the last few rounds. And it seems to work.

“So I'm definitely happy with that, I guess. Of course, you always try to nail laps in qualifying. Some are a bit better than others. This one was for sure very good. I'm probably never going to say it's a perfect lap, but it was a good lap.”