Having sailed through Q1 and Q2 at the head of the times, Verstappen made an error on his first run in Q3 and had to abort it.
That left him in ninth and at risk of remaining in that position should a red flag interrupt his second attempt, which was exactly what happened after Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari.
Despite his obvious frustration – exacerbated by the fact that Red Bull team-mate and title rival Sergio Perez earned pole position – Verstappen tried to remain upbeat, stating that he expected to recover to a “minimum P2.”
“Of course, that is unfortunate,” he said when asked about how Q3 had unfolded. “But first of all, of course, we didn't do a lap. And that was my fault. But yeah, it was extremely tricky.
“I was a little bit offline out of six into seven, I felt a bit of understeer, and I just couldn't get it back on the line. So I aborted my lap.
“And then of course, you need a bit of luck, hoping that there won't be a red flag. But of course, when you try to think like that, then it happens. So, it's a bit upsetting.
“I mean the whole weekend we have been really quick, my Q2 lap was fast enough even for pole in Q3.
“So, I guess that already says that we have a very quick car. But you need to put it together, and where it matters, we didn't. And that's a bit frustrating for my part.”
Source: Autosport