Verstappen explains why he did not get beyond P6 in SQ3 in Qatar
F1 News
- Estéban den Toom
Max Verstappen had hoped for something more in Friday night's sprint qualifying in Qatar. Team principal Christian Horner had already said that he had hoped for more than finishing in sixth place, as he expected the car to peform a bit better on the Qatar circuit. Verstappen, on Saturday, explained why he did not get beyond P6.
"It's nothing surprising of course, I had just hoped we would be a bit more competitive. When I drove out, I immediately noticed that the balance wasn't there. That is also not something you can solve one two three during a weekend. It has to do with my balance when entering the corner to the middle of the corner, I go from oversteer to understeer," Verstappen told Viaplay ahead of the Sprint.
The reigning world champion explains a bit more. "That's purely because I can't put enough front wing on the car, because when I do that, it goes the other way as soon as I touch the wheel. As a result, you can't attack corners. The only way to drive around it is to take the wing off at the front, but in the middle of the corner you have a lot of understeer. All those operations that take a bit longer, and therefore you lose a lot of time."
The Dutchman qualified in P6 on Friday night, and will start from the third row of the grid on Saturday. Lando Norris grabbed pole during that qualifying session. Sergio Perez will start from the pit lane. The Mexican qualified in P16, but his car's setup has been adjusted under parc fermé.
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sárközi
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