Max Verstappen explains pole defeat despite blistering GT3 qualifying pace

Max Verstappen has explained the reason he felt he was denied a
shot at pole position on his Nurburgring GT3 debut.  With
qualifying at the Nordschleife delayed by 30 minutes due to fog,
Verstappen ventured out on intermediate tyres to set an initial
8m46.694 on his first lap to claim provisional pole.  He chipped
away to an 8m:37s, before the change to slick tyres, where traffic
on his best lap left Verstappen three seconds off pole and having
to settle for third place aboard his Ferrari 296 #31 machine.
Reflecting, the F1 world champion was confident of a strong race.
"It actually went really well on the intermediates, the car was
running super," the Dutchman said. However, as the track dried and
the transition to slicks came about for the field, Verstappen
detailed the problem which cost him a shot at pole.  "It's not easy
to time your run well here," he added. "On my last lap, I ran into
way too much traffic to make a good lap. "But everything is going
really well. The tyres are good, so I believe that normally in the
race everything should still be possible."