Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsToro Rosso

Verstappen targets third row after Renault progress

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Max Verstappen says the third row on the grid could be achievable for Toro Rosso after an improvement from Renault.

In second practice for the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen finished sixth just behind the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat. With a gap of half a second back to Jenson Button in seventh, Verstappen sees an opportunity for Toro Rosso to challenge near the front of the grid in qualifying.

"For sure Q3," Verstappen said when asked for the target on Saturday. "Of course normally Mercedes and Ferrari will be in front. Williams I think we can maybe challenge, so I am looking forward to that ... I would be really happy with [the third row].”

And Verstappen says a step forward from Renault - coupled with a track that suits the car - is the main reason for Toro Rosso's competitiveness.

“They’ve made some improvements. Still we need to wait until the race but for the moment it’s all looking good and I’m quite happy about how we are performing at the moment. It’s early days and we will have to wait and see for the race.

"We knew this track would suit our car anyway, some medium and high speed corners, that is where our car performs. This track is not so engine-related, not as much as Bahrain and China so it helps us.

"You still have to wait and see what Mercedes [powered cars] do in qualifying, but I think the margin we have compared to the teams behind us is quite good so I am quite confident for tomorrow."

Click here for Friday's gallery from the Spanish Grand Prix

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.