Max Verstappen indicates that setting the same lap as George Russell’s pole position time in Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix flattered Red Bull’s overall competitiveness.

Verstappen had been unable to match the pacesetting Mercedes cars during the final practice session but recovered to end up involved in a dead heat with Russell.

However, the Dutchman has recognized Russell’s pole time being slower than Lewis Hamilton’s benchmark Q2 lap masked the Mercedes’ outright performance potential. “Yeah, I mean, in general, I think it wasn’t a bad qualifying,” Verstappen stated.

“I think what was mentioned before, probably Q3, was the weakest of the sessions for Mercedes. So, you know, being on the exact same lap time, yes, it’s amazing.

“But in hindsight, I think when you look at their pure pace, I take second. Because after Q2, I noticed their lap timings. I was like, there is no way that I can accomplish something like that.

“Then, of course, there was a little bit of rain in between, like a few spits here and there.” Verstappen has pushed Red Bull to ensure it executes smoother weekends as an electrical issue in FP2 wasted him track time and prompted him to swap to an old engine.

“But yeah, I mean, I think overall, just the weekend was again a bit messy from our side, just too many little issues,” he concluded. “And then, yeah, from there onwards, we tried to, of course, find the best possible balance with the car.

“I think we did get a decent balance in qualifying. I was quite satisfied with it. “But absolutely, we need to be able to just have cleaner weekends without complications. And I think that will assist a bit as well.”

Verstappen had expected that the long-standing kerb-riding weakness in Monaco which plagued Red Bull would be prominent again at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

But while the defending champion conceded the more open track is less penalising to Red Bull’s flaws, Verstappen termed second place “damage limitation”.

“We’re still struggling with the same things,” he admitted. “But of course, the track layout helps compared to Monaco, where Monaco is a lot more low speed.

“So it’s really important to have good ride mechanical grip here. Of course, there’s more aviation involved. “Of course, there are a few locations remaining where you need to ride kerbs or you have lumpy regions.

“But we know those limitations, so we need to just work on that. But that’s why I think in general, to be P2 here is all good.

Verstappen claimed he was not surprised with Mercedes’ quick appearance, highlighting how shocks such Formula Ferrari’s double Q2 exit indicate how close the margins are currently.

“I think in general, when you look at the whole grid, there are quite a few surprises, like good surprises and bad surprises,” he remarked.

“So yeah, it just shows that everyone is closing up and it’s details that make the difference. Maybe you understand tyres better.

“You know, of course, certain weaknesses from your car and probably other teams have their own weaknesses “So you just need to play that as well and take that into account with specific track layouts. But it’s excellent for Formula 1.”