Max Verstappen provided insights into his relatively modest qualifying outcome for the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint, attributing it to his struggle in warming up his tires on an “extremely slippery” track surface.
Verstappen‘s impressive streak of consecutive pole positions was halted during the sprint showdown at the Chinese Grand Prix. However, he remains poised to maintain his streak of strong Grand Prix qualifying performances for the main event of the weekend.
Having secured four grand prix poles in as many races at the start of the season, the Dutch driver found himself starting from the second row for the sprint at the Shanghai International Circuit, occupying the fourth position on the grid.
Following a session marked by unpredictable conditions, including changing weather and the final segment contested on intermediate tires, Verstappen expressed his belief that Red Bull’s outcomes were “fairly earned,” with his teammate Sergio Perez securing the sixth-fastest time.
Reflecting on the challenging conditions, Verstappen remarked, “Yeah, it was incredibly slippery,” when questioned about his experience during the session.
“I struggled a lot to get the temperature in the tyres, so that’s why it was very difficult to keep the car on the track. It never really switched on for me, so it was just like driving on ice.
“That’s why I think it’s quite deserved where we are in qualifying – it was just not really working for me in the wet, even though I think in the dry we look quite good, so I’m of course quite happy with that.”
Despite finding himself on the less favorable side of the grid, the three-time drivers’ champion remains optimistic about finding opportunities in the sprint race.
“Yeah, for sure. I mean, it’s not ideal to start on the inside here. And there’s a lot lower grip, left to right, with this, like painted stuff on the tarmac,” he argued when questioned about the possibility of redeeming himself in tomorrow’s race following his sprint shootout result.
“So we have to try and have the best start possible – I think it’s going to be quite a long stint on one set of tyres in the sprint, but that makes it quite interesting.”
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