And coincidentally Verstappen's title rivals. Oscar Piastri put in an immense lap to turn up the heat in the fight for the drivers' crown by taking pole position ahead of teammate Lando Norris, who'd up until Qatar had the championship momentum. However, the Red Bull Racing driver is confident the pressure is on the papaya drivers' shoulders, not on his.

Red Bull chief advisor Dr. Helmut Marko is of a similar opinion. Speaking to Sky Sports Germany after the qualifying session in Doha, he was asked if he expected fireworks at the start. "Certainly," he said.

"And when you know Max is alongside you, most drivers get nervous," he added tauntingly.

Elaborating on the hopes of a good result that aren't predicated on Verstappen pulling off a Turn 1 miracle, the 82-year-old Austrian added: "Overtaking is nearly impossible. I think you have to do it in the first corner or in the first two laps. But we have two stops and that offers some tactical possibilities."

Marko's expectations for the race rest on the issues in Verstappen's RB21 having been fixed with the qualifying set up, estimating the Dutchman would be faster in the race than he was over a lap, and stating he felt confidence that the Red Bull car had a pace advantage on the hard compound which is expected to be used during the Grand Prix.

"I'm still optimistic because the difference on the medium and hard tyre was even less, so I believe in the race we could be competitive," Marko concluded.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown says the Qatar GP start will be unmissable, with Max Verstappen lining up P3, the American executive expects Verstappen to attack McLaren’s Oscar Piastri on pole and championship leader Lando Norris in P2 into Turn 1. Read his full comments here.

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.