Max Verstappen has expressed his surprise at being just over three tenths shy of pole position, with Red Bull having been much further adrift throughout the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend.
The four-time world champion delivered a strong qualifying performance to secure fifth on the grid, although he was just 0.020s shy of fourth-placed Lando Norris and 0.023s behind Kimi Antonelli in third.
It represented a significant step forward for the Milton Keynes-based outfit, which has been struggling with a "sensitive" car and had been closer to seven tenths off the pace in practice.
Qualifying higher than fifth was a real possibility for Verstappen on his final lap after setting the fastest first sector; however, his RB22 began to slide through the closing corners.
To avoid any further sliding, the Dutchman admitted he took it easier than usual in the final corner, feeling as though the tyres had completely gone.
Nevertheless, the 28-year-old is taking the positives from qualifying, despite recognising that the race will be all about tyre management.
Asked if fifth was damage limitation after struggling throughout practice, Verstappen explained to select media, including RacingNews365: "We just struggled a lot with the car. In qualifying, it was a little bit better, but I was still a little bit surprised by how much the gap shrank.
"Our car is just a little bit sensitive, but I think, overall, we can be quite happy with this pace. Throughout the whole weekend, I think we were lacking six or seven tenths, and now it's within three tenths.
"On my last lap, for whatever reason, I just started to slide a little bit too much in the final sector to get any more lap time out of it, so I lost quite a bit of time in Turns 10 and 12. From there onwards, I probably took it a bit easy in the final corner because the feeling was gone.
"Otherwise, P3, of course, would have been on the cards, but at the end of the day, I don't think it would have made a massive difference to our result tomorrow because it's going to be all about tyre degradation, pit stops and strategy.
"We'll see how we go tomorrow."
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!