Verstappen delighted with pole after "shocking" Qatar F1 Sprint

After what he called a shocking sprint race, four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen claimed that he had not expected his RB20 to excel in the main qualifying session at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Following a low-key showing in Qatar F1 Sprint, Max Verstappen bounced back with an eye-catching performance in the main qualifying for tomorrow’s Qatar Grand Prix. The newly-crowned four-time world champion looked strong from the get-go, with Red Bull having made several tweaks to his RB following the sprint race.

The Dutchman needed a quick lap in the dying seconds of Q3 to beat George Russell, which he was able to deliver to secure his first pole position since the Austrian Grand Prix.

Reflecting on his day, Verstappen explained that he was caught by surprise as he had not expected his RB20 to excel in the main qualifying session at the Qatar Grand Prix.

“I am very happy with how we turned it around today. The Sprint was quite shocking, we had a lot of oversteer and struggled with the balance throughout and couldn’t fight at all.

"We changed the car but we also surprised ourselves with the turnaround and the performance in Qualifying. It felt much better and the car felt more consistent, once we were in a better window I could drive more on the limit.

"I’m very pleased, it has been a while since we’ve been on Pole. I am very proud of everyone to make those changes and to be in this position. Tomorrow we are in the fight and hopefully will have a bit of fun on track as well," added the Dutchman.