The winner of the Spanish Grand Prix has started on the front row in 31 of its last 34 editions — which means anyone hoping to challenge from further back on the grid will need to be bold!

Starting third, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen has suggested a three-wide run into the first turn would keep things interesting, before becoming more realistic about his chances.

“It’s time to shine in Turn 1” says a cheeky Max Verstappen

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

A year ago, qualifying third on the grid for a Grand Prix would have been something of a disaster for Verstappen.

The then-championship leader had found Lando Norris emerge as his latest title rival after a Miami update transformed the papaya team’s 2024 — and suddenly, every position mattered.

But in 2024, as the McLaren duo of Norris and Oscar Piastri sit at the top of the drivers’ championship standings, a third-place start is perhaps as good as Verstappen could hope for.

Still, he hasn’t let the changing of fortunes get him down.

“I think it’s time to shine in Turn 1,” Verstappen joked to the media, including PlanetF1.com, during the post-qualifying press conference ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.

He continued: “Make it three wide for the pictures; why not?”

In typical Verstappen style, though, he quickly pivoted to offer his full thoughts on what’s in store come Sunday afternoon.

“Honestly, I think looking at pace, it will be tough,” he admitted.

“It’s not all about the start in Turn 1; you need to be good on tyres. It’s a long race. A lot can happen.

“So I’ll just try to maximise what I’ve got.”

More on the Spanish Grand Prix wing updates:

👉 Explaining F1’s phantom updates and why McLaren do have a new front wing after all

👉 Mercedes focus their efforts elsewhere, as there’s no new front wing on the menu

Elaborating on his qualifying session, Verstappen added, “Yeah, it was fine. I mean, I think it was consistently the same delta behind: so, Q1, Q2, Q3.

“Just my first one in Q3 was a bit more difficult because we tried a different out lap approach, and that didn’t work, but clearly just lacking a bit too much.

“Sector 1 was quite tough, Turn 1 was never really good, even though I tried different approaches. Just didn’t really seem to find the grip there.

“The rest, I mean, yeah, it was fine. The car was in a decent window, unfortunately, not fast enough.

“But I had fun out there. The car, around here, qualifying flat out, fast corners is really enjoyable.”

The reigning champion was asked if he felt he had the pace to be closer to the McLaren duo over the course of a lap in qualifying, and his answer was simple: “No.”

His hopes for the race itself are quite similar.

“It’s going to be tough, I think,” he admitted.

“I think my long run wasn’t bad, but if you look at the difference today, it will be tough to put up a really, really good fight.

“That doesn’t mean that we’re not gonna try. So, we’ll see tomorrow.”

With the pace of the McLarens so dominant this weekend, it’d likely be safe to assume the top step of the podium is reserved for papaya. But anything can happen — particularly into Turn 1!

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