World Champion Hamilton soon surrendered to his defeat. “I did everything in the qualifiers, but Max was better,” said the Brit, who did not even appear dissatisfied with the result. “I’m glad everything has gone so far in my car. I was expecting us to be behind Red Bull.”
“They’re just faster, just keep it there. I’m not surprised Max got a starting point. Red Bull was really impressive, fast, and reliable during their test days.”
Number Three Bottas also complimented Verstappen. “Max was not arrested today. I’m glad we had two cars in the top three with Mercedes. Now everyone knows we didn’t lie when we said we had to work.”
Perez and Vettel are disappointing
New Verstappen’s new teammate Sergio Perez has only 11 times out of the Red Bull team, which means the Mexican is Sunday to catch up.
Sebastian Vettel’s first qualification for his new Aston Martin team ended in disappointment. The four-time world champion was already stranded in the first tournament and will start from 18th place on Sunday.
Fernando Alonso (of the former Alpine racing stable, Renault) celebrated his return to Formula 1 with a ninth qualifying time.
