F1 Grand Prix of Qatar - Practice & Sprint Qualifying - Source: Getty
Max Verstappen felt that the Red Bull just didn't have the pace and was too slow to compete against the rivals. The Dutch driver came into the Qatar GP weekend after sealing the title in Las Vegas. The track layout in Qatar is something that should have been expected to favor the Red Bull car. The car also looked more or less decent on the track.
The only issue appears to be the fact that the car lacks that one final jump that would propel it to the front. As a result, Verstappen could only put together a laptime that was good enough for P6 and slower than the likes of Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, George Russell and Oscar Piastri.
Max Verstappen will now start the sprint from P6 with Lewis Hamilton just behind him in P7. Talking to Sky Sports afterward about the disappointing session, Verstappen said that the car just didn't have the pace to compete. Explaining how he doesn't have balance mid-corner he said:
