Why Marco says Verstappen's qualifying session was 'less than ideal'

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Max Verstappen was delighted to take pole position for Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix in front of his fans. But Helmut Marko says the Dutchman's pole position was more problematic than it should have been.

Red Bull special adviser Helmut Marko says Max Verstappen has made life difficult for himself on his way to pole position at Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix.

Despite missing most of Friday's first practice session with a gearbox problem, Verstappen was just 0.021 ahead of Charles Leclerc to take pole for his home race, but Marco says the Dutchman was a little too diligent with his tires before his first flying lap.

"It was incredibly exciting during the last part of qualifying," Marco told Sky Deutschland.

"Max heated up his tires excessively fast before his most memorable stretch in Q3, so it wasn't great. Fortunately, he did it well in the second run."

"Ferrari is a lot more grounded here in Zandvoort than in Spa, however that is the very thing that we previously expected.

Marco challenges Perez to improve after the spin

Although Verstappen claimed pole position, the Dutchman's team-mate Sergio Perez had a less fortunate time, spinning at the final corner in his final stint to finish fifth behind Verstappen, the two Ferraris and Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes.

Still, Marco seemed to understand Perez's mistake, saying he'd rather have the driver push hard and crash than drive into himself.

"We would have been happier if Perez hadn't crashed at the end," Marco said.

"Max learned to drive fast and save the car. According to our calculations, Perez would have finished in third place, but it is better for him to take a chance and fly than to be stuck behind everyone."

As Perez seemed to struggle to keep up with Verstappen's pace in the final races, Marco put the mark on the Mexican.

"Perez needs to be faster and better [during training] on Fridays," Marco said.

"In any case, we figure he can battle for second spot in the title.