Max Verstappen will be starting his race in Turkey from an incredible P2 on the grid. Despite lining up on the front row, the Dutch opened up that he was “upset” with his performance in Q3.

Following the qualifying session, Max looked dejected for failing to protect what could have been his pole position as Lance Stroll stole it at the very last moment.

“I’m just upset because the whole weekend we are first, we look very comfortable, and then we lose out in Q3,” Max said.

Eventful, yet disappointing Q3 for Max

Max dominated through both the qualifying sessions and even posted a lap time in Q3, well enough to steer clear of his potential threat, Mercedes. However, he never foresaw what was coming his way. To be fair, nobody did.

When the lights went green for Q3, Racing Point took a gamble with Sergio Perez by sending him out on Intermediates. And it worked. Hence, Red Bull, too, immediately called Max into the pits and gave him the green-marked tires.

Unfortunately, the Red Bull driver struggled to light up his tires as both the Racing Point drivers almost locked out the front row. Luckily, Max had enough time to do another lap and split the ‘Pink Panthers’ to take second place on the grid.

Max Verstappen reveals he doesn’t care about out-qualifying Mercedes

Max Verstappen out-qualified both the Mercedes drivers as Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas line up in P6 and P9, respectively. However, the Dutch revealed that he does not care about beating the Silver Arrows.

“At the end of the day, I don’t care where the Mercedes is,” he said. “I just look at our performance and that’s not just good in Q3. That’s why I’m so upset.

“You can’t look at other people’s performance to judge your performance, you have to look at yourself. And clearly, in Q3, it was not good.”

If tomorrow’s race turns out to be on a dry track, Max could well be the prime contender for getting on to the podium’s top step, as both the Mercedes drivers will have a pool of cars to get ahead of. But if the race happens under rainy conditions, well, then it could be anyone’s race.

Will the conditions on Sunday play into Max’s advantage, or will Racing Point continue their incredible qualifying form through the race as well?