Toro Rosso's Verstappen surprises and takes the third row to start tomorrow's Malaysian GP

Max Verstappen (Q3 1:51.981, pos. 6th): “I’m very happy, it was a good session this afternoon, especially Q3. In Q1 and Q2 I wasn’t totally comfortable with the car, but we had a good end of Q2. I was smiling when it started to rain, because that’s what I like. I’m Dutch so I’m used to driving in the wet, even though here it’s a completely different story. P6 is a really a good position to start tomorrow’s race. I’m really looking forward to it and even if we seem to struggle a bit in the longer runs, I’m not worried and hopefully we can score some points.”

Carlos Sainz (Q2 1:43.701, pos. 15th): “I’m disappointed with today’s result, as getting into Q3 was more than possible and we could’ve ended up with a great result. We were looking very good, very sharp, but unfortunately I made a rookie mistake at Turn 14 and I locked-up when it was starting to rain, losing all chances to get through to Q3. If this rain hadn’t arrived, we would’ve surely been up there. But these things can happen, we need to stay positive and learn from mistakes. I look forward to making up some positions in the race tomorrow as we know that we can fight for a good result.”

James Key (Technical Director): “Today’s qualifying was a tricky session because of the weather conditions. We knew the rain was coming but we didn’t know exactly when! I think Q1 was fine and I have to say that Carlos was flying in the dry conditions, he was really good and looked promising for Q3. Unfortunately that first lap on the Option tyres in Q2 was extremely unpredictable. We have to remember that our guys had never driven here in the wet before while all the people around them had, so they had to judge it as best as they could. Both drivers did a great job, but Carlos just missed it in Turn 14 and if not, he would’ve got through just fine together with Max. It’s a real shame, because he had looked strong all day.

Max did an outstanding job considering that we’ve never faced these conditions with him in the past and he nailed it. To be starting from the third row here is excellent! For tomorrow we have to watch the weather forecast again, so we will be keenly watching the radars and getting ready for all eventualities that can catch you out. Fingers crossed we can put together a good result for both drivers. We know the potential is there for that to happen.”

Scuderia Toro Rosso