Verstappen offers brutal Red Bull verdict after Qatar shortcoming

Max Verstappen has lambasted his Red Bull after only being able to qualify sixth-fastest for the sprint at the Qatar Grand Prix.

The Dutchman called the RB20 “too slow” whilst detailing where he felt the car was “not okay” during the first grid-setting session of the weekend at the Lusail International Circuit.

Although the high-speed sections of the track did not pose many issues, the 27-year-old was not happy with how the car handled through the opening phase of corners.

Verstappen went on to suggest that he was perhaps fortunate to achieve the qualifying spot he did, arguing he could have been on the row behind.

“Just no pace, to be honest, too slow,” Verstappen told F1TV when reviewing his session. “I just don’t really have the balance to attack entry to mid-corner, the car is just a bit off.

“So, makes it really difficult around here. The very high speed is okay, but everything else is not okay, and that makes it difficult to push.

“P6 is more or less where we should be, maybe even P7, actually – of course, not where you want to be.”

Verstappen expecting ‘tough’ F1 sprint

Having secured his fourth-consecutive F1 drivers’ championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, all Verstappen has to fight for is the Milton Keynes team’s standing in the constructors’ fight.

However, he feels battling those around him will be difficult in the third-distance race. The 62-time grand prix winner is unlikely to get much support from his team-mate, with Sergio Perez only able to qualify P16.

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

“And then for the other qualifying, let’s see if we can improve the situation a bit.

“But I don’t expect it to suddenly be turned upside down and that it works. It’s not been amazing.”