Verstappen finds positives in P2 finish at China sprint qualifying

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

Max Verstappen expressed his happiness with his P2 finish in the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying, acknowledging the result as a "motivation boost" for the Red Bull team. Entering the Sprint Qualifying session with limited practice and no soft tire reference, Verstappen exceeded his own expectations by almost clinching pole position.

Red Bull's lead driver narrowly missed out on P1 to Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton by a mere 0.018 seconds. Reflecting on the performance, Verstappen said, "I’m very happy. In the first practice, we were quite a bit off, so being on the front row is a great outcome.”

Verstappen will start second in Saturday's Sprint, attributing his strong lap to adapting from medium to soft tires without prior reference. “We missed pole by 18 hundredths, but even being on the front row is more than we anticipated,” he noted.

Red Bull made minimal adjustments to the RB21, focusing instead on maximizing their performance despite lacking some pace. “Nothing dramatic, the balance isn’t massively off. We’re just too slow, I would say. But this is good motivation for everyone,” added the reigning World Champion.

Acknowledging his team's efforts to optimize their laps, Verstappen remarked, “I was happy with what I was doing in Sprint Qualifying.” Looking ahead, he noted the strong performance of McLaren, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris finishing in P3 and P6 respectively.

“They looked very fast up until the last run. It will be hard to keep them behind, but hopefully, it will be fun,” the 27-year-old concluded.

Verstappen and Red Bull aim to leverage this momentum in Saturday’s Sprint, anticipating a competitive and engaging race.

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