Verstappen focused on Mercedes with Ferrari out of reach

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Red Bull's Max Verstappen is confident he can fight Mercedes in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, but the Dutchman believes Ferrari's straight-line speed has put it out of reach.

It's been anything but a clean weekend for Verstappen, the Red Bull charger's efforts regularly hampered by small issues.

Saturday's qualifying session was more of the same with an issue preventing his Honda engine from delivering its full power and forcing the team to run in a conservative mode, a restriction that still allowed Verstappen to secure a fifth-place spot on tomorrow's grid.

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"In general, I would say a tricky weekend," explained Verstappen.

"All the time we wanted to up the power, it didn't work. So we had to run conservatively in qualifying. That's not what you want around here.

"We were losing quite a lot on the straight. But on a positive note, we were still quite close to the Mercedes cars. For us that is quite important. We'll try to fight them tomorrow."

The Red Bull charger, who is expecting less engine trouble on Sunday, admitted that Ferrari was in a league of their own, helped mainly by the SF90's sheer power and top speed which have come into their own at Spa.

"I think our race pace yesterday was really good," he added.

"I expect it to be close, and Ferrari it looks like made a step forward with the top speed they have. Even if you have more speed, you will not get by."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.