Max Verstappen "risked it all" during his final lap as he took the fastest lap in Belgian Grand Prix qualifying. As was the case last season, Verstappen won qualifying for Red Bull at Spa but owing to a grid penalty for a gearbox change will be demoted down the order to sixth place provisionally, allowing Charles Leclerc to inherit pole position. "Last year I had more penalties and we could still win the race," Verstappen said. "That is still the target on Sunday, but first let's see tomorrow what the weather will do and what kind of racing we will have [in the Sprint]. "Sector 2 was still a bit damp, so there was only one dry line in some corners, and you had to do a bit of an alternative line to normal in the dry. "It was all about feeling confident and basically risking everything in that final run to get more lap-time. "We know that the car was quick and I think even with these tricky conditions today, luckily we could show that again."
Verstappen's clear target
Verstappen only squeaked through to the pole position shootout in 10th place in Q2, and confessed that he did not have the "confidence" in the second segment. "It was very tight and the conditions were very tricky, the track was really drying and I just didn't have that confidence in Q2," he explained. "I was very lucky to in P10, but then in Q3, you have two tyre sets so you know that you can push a little bit more, risk a little bit more. "That is what we did on that final lap, and I know I have to drop back on Sunday with the penalty, but that's the best I could do today."
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