Max Verstappen was left to rue a major missed opportunity after he failed to qualify fastest for Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix.

The 29-year-old Dutchman eventually finished the session in P4, and will now start Sunday's race from P5 on the grid due to a one-place penalty he picked up after a clash with Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson on Friday.

Verstappen was just under two tenths of a second away from Ferrari pole sitter Lewis Hamilton, but he may well have been fastest of all but for a Q3 incident involving McLaren's Lando Norris.

Verstappen explains crucial Norris moment

The four-time world champion says he 'couldn't believe his eyes' when he arrived a Turn 12 to find Norris right where he did not want him.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he explained: "I arrived to Turn 12 and then I picked up dirty air because they were driving so slow, so I lost a bit of time there. But the lap was good - I think overall qualifying was very strong.

"Out of Turn 12 I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him [Norris]. I saw the car on the right, so you lose your braking reference, you have to enter in a little bit of a different angle to the braking point. And in such a tight corner you cannot afford that. That's when I locked up."

Speaking to Dutch broadcaster Viaplay, Verstappen had an even stronger take, claiming: “It’s a shame. Of course, pole position was within reach. Then we would have been second.”

Red Bull bring big improvement for qualifying

While Verstappen was disappointed his final lap was hampered by that controversial moment, he was delighted by the improvement in his RB22 car during Saturday's session.

"For sure we were in that fight for pole, which for me of course is the most important, because all weekend I've not been really happy with the car. But then in qualifying we really improved the car, which I think is the most important thing."