A surprised Max Verstappen had high expectations, but he did not anticipate securing pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix. After a disappointing sprint race where his car underperformed, a complete turnaround occurred during the GP qualifiers. “Now, let’s hope it feels just as good during the race,” he said.
This is Verstappen’s first pole position since the Austrian Grand Prix five months ago. The sudden improvement in Qatar on Saturday evening compared to earlier in the weekend was due to modifications Red Bull made to the cars after the sprint race. “Yes, we made a few changes,” Verstappen confirmed, who had previously described his car as feeling like a rally car.
Regulations allow for changes to be made between a sprint race and qualification. “But I never thought it would result in such a performance shift. That’s promising. It certainly feels a lot more stable over a single lap. But honestly, I did not expect pole position.”
Whether he can win is another matter. Verstappen: “It’s going to be a tough race, for both the drivers and the tyres. Perhaps this setup will make things a bit easier, it seems we can at least compete for the win.
