The Red Bull driver tried a different approach in the final race of Q3, getting more heat from the tyres, as he aimed to retain the top spot he had gained earlier after the first race.

But the plan didn’t work out, as Verstappen struggled in the final effort to open the door for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to surprise pole position.

With the teams having only one practice session ahead of qualifying, they faced greater uncertainty regarding tire performance.

It tried to unlock the extra advantage by being more aggressive on the outer lap, but it backfired as he was knocked out and finished second.

Asked by Autosport to explain the thinking behind the change of approach, Verstappen said: “I just wanted to warm them up a bit.

“Just after FP1, I think sometimes you don’t fully understand what you want to do in qualifying. The first one was good, but still not perfect. So we tried, it could have worked, and then it looked great.

“It’s kind of like what happened in Australia, it didn’t work this time, but it’s not the end of the world.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19

Photography: Andy Horn / motorsport pictures

Verstappen doesn’t think Leclerc’s pole position was entirely unexpected, as he points out that Ferrari has proven itself very strong in single-lap qualifying so far.

“If you look at all the qualifying, I think in general the first three rounds were very close,” he said.

“We had a really good car, but it never really dominated on a lap. I don’t know why that happened.

“It was the same last year. It was also a little bit down to being overweight. But then we started to lose weight and Saturday was still not our best day.

“Sometimes it’s just the way the car works, but we all know the points are on Sunday. So I don’t mind being slower on Saturday and faster on Sunday.”