The Dutchman secured his first-ever front-row starting spot in Barcelona - a venue Mercedes has dominated at in r♉ecent years - as he was pipped to pole by Lewis Hamilton by a margin of just 0.🔯036s.

Given Mercedes’ remaღrkable record at the C♐ircuit de Barcelona Catalunya, Verstappen insisted he could take real satisfaction from his efforts in qualifying as he managed to put his car in-between Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas’.

“I think second for us here on this track was very good today,” Verstappen said. “We know they are hard 🐠to beat around here,ꦯ so, to be that close, I can be happy with that.

“I 🧜struggled a bit into Q1 but then we sorted out the balance for Q2, which was pretty good,” he added. “Then Q3, for me to be honest, both laps were💜 pretty decent.

“Only the second lap was a little worse for whatever reason; ♐it’s quite gusty he𝓰re, so the wind changes a lot.”

And Verstappen is now turning his attentions to ꧑making a good s⛎tart in his bid to put the pressure on championship leader Hamilton, with a 600-metre run down to Turn 1 facing the field.

“It’s a long run to turn one, but of course, first you have to mak👍e sure to have a good start,” he explained. “And it seems like the pace is there. So of course I hope tha♚t we can have a good race as well.

“Around here, with all the fast corners ♎and💜 tyres overheating, tyre management is very important. So we have to make sure that we are on top of that tomorrow.”