Red Bull boss apologizes to Verstappen after Sprint Qualifying woes

Red Bull had a difficult Sprint Qualifying session at the Shanghai International Circuit. Verstappen could only set the eighth fastest time, while Isack Hadjar finished in tenth place.

The Dutchman's gap to George Russell, who qualified on pole position, was 1.7 seconds.

After the chequered flag, the Red Bull team boss also sent a message to the four-time world champion.

He said: "Sorry, Max. Tough one, a lot to learn. The weekend is still long, we need to learn from [this session]. Let's try again."

Verstappen's race engineer, Giampiero Lambiase, also said the result had nothing to do with his skills.

After the session, Verstappen had to visit the stewards as well because he was impeded by Pierre Gasly. As a result, he could still gain a position on the grid for tomorrow's Sprint.