Max Verstappen said Red Bull has made a "massive step" with its Barcelona upgrade after qualifying fifth for the Spanish Grand Prix, 0.6s off the Mercedes and Ferrari battle for pole position.
Much attention has been given to Red Bull's upgrade ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend, with many expecting the team to cut the deficit to the front. Though qualifying showed it still has work to do to make each weekend a three-way fight, Verstappen thinks the gap to the front -- down from 1.5s in Russia -- shows Red Bull's new parts have done the intended job.
When asked if he felt the upgrade had made a genuine step forward, he said: "Absolutely, I think we went forward. I think so far this weekend before qualifying we were still finding a bit of a balance with the new upgrades. I think in qualifying we were pretty spot on, I think the car was pretty much by the best we've had all season. Yeah, very happy, it was a good qualifying.
"We have come from 1.5 to 0.6s already which is a massive step, we just need to keep on pushing from the car side and wait on what comes on the engine, we cannot control that. But, we are definitely more positive at the moment."
It is an encouraging sign for Red Bull, with Renault expected to bring an engine upgrade to the Canadian Grand Prix in early June. Verstappen says the Barcelona parts have changed the entire feel of the car.
"I think everywhere there was an improvement. I think the car was in a balance, from entry to mid- and mid- to exit of the corner, where we were sometimes struggling in one certain phase I think now we are all around a much more stable balance and you can push a lot more, I think it showed today.
"Personally for me, the balance was really good, now we just need to keep on working to get even more downforce on the car. If you look at the last sector, I was third quickest of all the drivers so that shows we are on a good way."
As well as qualifying closer to pole position than Red Bull has managed all season, Verstappen also finished Q3 0.5s ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who will share the third row.