The reigning World Champion and current championship leader will line up in 10th for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix after suffering a “power unit-related” problem that prevented him from making a final run in Q3. Verstappen made a mistake on his first run in the final part of qualifying that left him 1.3 seconds off the top times after the Red Bull driver ran out of Turn 2. Taking to the track for his second, more decisive run, he encountered the power problem and, despite race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase’s best efforts to resolve it, Verstappen was both literally and figuratively powerless as his final flying lap began . . Condemned to start in midfield at a circuit known for its difficulty in overtaking, Verstappen chose to focus on the positives of seeing Red Bull join the battle for pole position after being off the pace in Friday’s practice. “I don’t think it’s a big issue, but something that we couldn’t solve in a good way, basically. It’s very unfortunate,” he told Sky F1 after qualifying. “I think the recovery from yesterday was amazing, I think both the boys and the girls back at the factory, there was a lot of analysis to understand what really wasn’t working so well yesterday. “In a way, this is a positive for today. We understood what went wrong and the car was much better today in terms of handling on a track that doesn’t really suit us. “So that’s a big positive for the rest of the year anyway, that we can, even at a track where we’re not that strong, be competitive. “Of course, I would still like to start in the top three and I definitely think we had the pace for that because, even in Q2, we looked very strong, comfortable. Well yes, [it was] a good twist.” Red Bull boss Christian Horner has shed some light on the issue Verstappen has been dealing with, which is unlikely to have any implications for Verstappen in terms of power unit use or penalties going forward. As a result of the lower than expected grid slot, Verstappen said Sunday’s race will be about being patient in trying to push forward. “Unfortunately, the little mistake we had made us start 10th,” he said. “It might be hard if you get stuck, hopefully not too much! But we must remain calm and wait for our moments to advance. We just have to be in it and be flexible.”
