Verstappen shrugs: "It is what it is"

Max Verstappen can live with the second-fastest time he drove in qualifying at the Bahrain International Circuit. The reigning world champion could not match the fastest time of Charles Leclerc, but he is not worried about that. Verstappen is mainly focused on scoring the maximum number of points tomorrow.

"Yes, in the end, it was very close," Verstappen kicks off at Viaplay. "It's always a bit in the details and they weren't quite top-notch in Q3, that's part of it. It can't always be perfect, but on the other hand, I think we have a very good race car. I would have preferred to be first, but it's not the end of the world."

So the fourteenth pole position is out of grasp for now, and Verstappen explains what he was ultimately lacking in his final two runs. "I had quite a good balance in Q2, but it didn't quite come out in Q3. Then you see on your own delta that you lose half a tenth somewhere, for example. It just didn't come out quite right. It is what it is," he shrugged.

Verstappen has a good relationship with Ferrari drivers

In recent years Verstappen mainly fought with Mercedes on the track, but that will be different in 2022. Now Ferrari is the big rival. "There is definitely tension, which is also nice," he said. Whether he would rather take on the Italian superpower than Mercedes? "It doesn't matter that much, I do have a good relationship with Charles and Carlos, they are also more my own age," Verstappen said.