Red Bull made a tactical decision to sacrifice qualifying pace to be faster in Sunday's race, Max Verstappen revealed.
The Dutchman went second quickest in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, behind a very popular pole-sitter in Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari star did not need to set the fastest time given the penalties for his main rivals, but he did so anyway to delight the Tifosi.
Verstappen will start the race further back as a result of his five-place grid penalty for taking a new engine component. With that in mind, and overtaking necessary for the Red Bull, he explained that the team had made a conscious decision to make sure the car was fully set up for the race.
