Max Verstappen says he was happy to give Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto a tow in qualifying for Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix after seeing his own lap ruined.

On the second and final Q3 run, Verstappen had to back off after encountering a yellow flag in the final sector for Pierre Gasly, who spun his Alpine out of the final corner.

Verstappen wasn’t able to start another lap at pace, but saw Bortoleto behind him and decided to give the Brazilian a slipstream on the main straight, before jumping out of the way into Turn 1. The gesture helped Bortoleto claim eighth, his best grid position so far this year.

Verstappen and Bortoleto are known to get on very well and often race each other online on iRacing, and the four-time world champion felt the Sauber rookie deserved a little push having been impressive all weekend at the Red Bull Ring.

“Yes, because my lap was ruined anyway,” Verstappen told Viaplay. “I saw him behind me, and he has really had a good weekend so far, so I thought, let me try and help him a little bit.”

Bortoleto appreciated the gesture, and said he had actually tried to give Verstappen a slipstream as well a few corners earlier.

“He always gives me a tow, he’s the best,” Bortoleto laughed. “He’s super kind, I tried to give him a tow as well from Turn 8 to Turn 9 but then there was a yellow flag. But I tried my best, I even tried to take the [battery] charge off to boost the engine.”

While seventh-starting Verstappen suffered a difficult day with a total lack of grip in the Red Bull, Bortoleto enjoyed his best qualifying performance so far on his 10th grand prix weekend after finally feeling more at ease with his Sauber.

“I feel like it’s the first weekend that I’m that comfortable since FP1, things are clicking for me and I’m going in the right direction,” the reigning F2 champion said.

“It’s very promising and hopefully we can achieve this type of qualifying every single time. It’s not only coming from the team’s upgrades but also from myself, understanding the car.”