Max Verstappen finally finds Red Bull relief: 'That's exactly what you want'

Max Verstappen took solace from finishing the best of the rest behind an all-McLaren front row in qualifying third for the Dutch Grand Prix.

Verstappen had played down his chances coming into the weekend at Zandvoort, appreciating the fact that after three wins and three pole positions from the last four races at the Dutch seaside circuit, he was in no position to repeat.

The four-time F1 champion finished a quarter of a second behind Oscar Piastri, who posted a new lap record en route to his first pole in seven races. The Australian finished just 0.012s ahead of team-mate Lando Norris.

Verstappen at least set the fastest middle sector en route to his time and position. Asked whether he could be happy with his performance, he replied: "Yeah, for sure.

"The weekend, so far, has been quite tricky for us, but qualifying was basically the best I've felt all weekend, so that's exactly what you want.

"To be honest, P3 here, I'm very happy with that. The energy of the crowd, of course, the whole weekend already, has been amazing, and to see so much orange in the grandstands is always very special."

As to whether he will simply be happy with a podium at the end of the race, he added: "Let's see what we can do.

"The McLarens have been very fast all weekend, so it's important to just focus on our own race.

"But this has been a good step forward. I hope that we can keep it going into the race tomorrow."