Max Verstappen’s aggressive driving style came to good use during Sprint Qualifying in China yesterday, when he had to fend off numerous attacks to keep his 3rd place.
Verstappen said he was pleased with the result afterwards, given how the team struggled to manage their tyres through the race. Verstappen finished P3 behind Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton who finished in pole.
The Dutch-Belgian driver will have to make the RB16 work for another 19 laps around Shanghai if he wants to start Sunday’s race with a chance to fight for points.
Verstappen’s nerve as a driver really had to bunker down against the likes of the McLaren and in a surprise turn of events, Hamilton in the Ferrari.
The F1 world did not expect to see the seven-time World Champion in front so quickly with his new prancing horse, but Hamilton showed why he’s a legend.
Verstappen trailed Hamilton by around one second through the first 10 laps of Sprint qualifying 1 but fading tyres caused him to drop behind in third, as Piastri made a move up.
It’s clear Red Bull have not figured out their title-winning recipe yet with a few kinks to iron out. The Red Bull car is certainly quick enough, posting the second fastest time around Albert Park during the season opener, but speed is just one aspect in balance of an F1 car.
“I tried to give it a go because I also had Oscar behind me pushing, so I was trying to keep in that DRS – that helps a lot on the back straight.
“I definitely take that P3 – even the cars behind were catching up quite a lot. It was tough out there to manage the tyres somehow, but it’s okay. We’ll try to do better,” Verstappen said.
“We’ll try to make it better. We’ll look into the data, see what we can improve a bit on the car, but I think in general we just lack a bit of overall pace. Naturally, you have to push harder and you kill your tyres a bit more, so that makes it very difficult,” he said for Saturday’s sprint.
