Verstappen warns Spanish GP victory will be 'tough' after qualifying third in Madrid

Max Verstappen conceded that winning Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix will be “tough” after qualifying third at Madrid’s new Madring street circuit, with the Red Bull driver struggling to identify overtaking opportunities that could help him overhaul polesitter Lando Norris.

Verstappen ended Saturday’s session 0.1 seconds adrift of Norris, with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli splitting the two title rivals in second place. It is the closest Verstappen has been to pole position since Monaco, where he was just 0.043 seconds behind Antonelli.

“It will be tough,” Verstappen said when asked whether he could challenge for victory. “Even, let’s say, best-case scenario, you are faster, you can’t pass. There are no corners where you can pass. So you need to rely on people deg-ing very aggressively.”

Tyre degradation emerged as a potential wildcard. Verstappen noted that long-run pace was difficult for everyone across the field, suggesting strategy could play a decisive role in the outcome. “The long runs were very tough, a lot of tyre deg for everyone, so that will be probably the key point tomorrow. But even with that, I need to still figure out a corner where to pass.”

Despite his caution about the race, Verstappen was broadly satisfied with how qualifying unfolded. He described a clean progression through Q1, Q2 and Q3, and pointed to genuine car improvements since arriving in Madrid. His main concern was a recurring deployment issue in the circuit’s final sector, where Red Bull has consistently lost ground to its rivals.

“The car, I think we made some nice improvements, but where we just struggle a little bit is always that final sector, where we just don’t seem to get our deployment like our competitors,” he explained. “But that’s qualifying. The race is again very different.”

Verstappen also addressed whether his Q2 performance — where he topped the session by 0.160 seconds over Antonelli — suggested he had more pace in hand than his final grid position implied. He was quick to add context, noting he was among the few drivers to use two tyre sets in that phase, making a direct comparison difficult.

With overtaking expected to be at a premium on the Madrid street layout, tyre management and pit-stop timing look set to determine whether Verstappen can convert his third-place grid slot into a genuine challenge for the win.