Unhappy Max Verstappen’s “too slow” feedback on RB20 in Qatar

Max Verstappen made his frustrations clear after battling to P6 in sprint qualifying at the F1 Qatar Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver has already wrapped up this season’s Formula 1 drivers’ championship in spite of his below-par machinery in the latter half of the campaign.

Although Red Bull have largely got on top of their problems, Verstappen was no match for McLaren’s Lando Norris on Friday in Qatar.

Pole-sitter Norris, his teammate Oscar Piastri, Mercedes’ George Russell and both Ferrari drivers were quicker than Verstappen on Friday.

“No pace, to be honest,” he complained afterwards.

“Too slow. I just don’t have the balance to attack the entry to mid-corner.

“The car is just a bit… off!

“So, it makes it really difficult around here. The very high speed is okay but the rest is not okay.

“This makes it difficult to push. P6 is where we should be… maybe P7, actually.

“It is, of course, not where you want to be.

“The sprint will be tough to fight the cars around me, with the balance that I have in my car.”

In P7 was Verstappen’s old rival Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver deserved to pinch an extra place on the starting grid for the sprint race in Qatar, Verstappen admitted.

On Saturday, the sprint race precedes qualifying for the grand prix.

The sprint format makes selecting a set-up for Sunday’s grand prix even more challenging.

Verstappen is already wary of the sessions after the sprint race, and what his RB20 might be incapable of.

“For the other qualifying, let’s see if we can improve a bit,” he said.

“But I don’t expect it to suddenly turn upside-down and work.

“It’s not been amazing…”

Although his fourth drivers’ title in a row is already in the bag, Red Bull came to Qatar with hope of overthrowing McLaren in the constructors’ standings.

That ambition took a major setback on Friday in sprint qualifying.