Verstappen not dissatisfied with P3: "Not the best lap of my life"

Max Verstappen narrowly missed out on pole for the sprint race in Qatar. The Red Bull Racing driver lost his first lap time in SQ3 after exceeding track limits, and his second run was not flawless either. Therefore, he will see both McLaren drivers start ahead of him on Saturday night.

Verstappen had a harder time in the qualifying session for the sprint race than a day earlier. "It was just quite tricky. Also, with the wind, the car was moving around probably a little bit more than yesterday. Also, it was probably not the best lap of my life, but it's okay. It's P3, so there are quite a few laps in the sprint as well. So, it will be quite interesting," he told F1TV.

Moreover, the Dutchman sees another advantage for the sprint race. "Of course, it also gets much cooler in the sprint, and then the car feels much better. Our car should be good in the heat. I think we just couldn't really get it together for qualifying," he explained.

Verstappen has 19 laps to outsmart Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, but according to the Red Bull driver, the sprint race will not be obvious. "It will be tough, but it also depends on how your tyres stay alive. The wear is high. Let's see if we have a bit of a better race pace," Verstappen concluded.