Despite early struggles in practice, Max Verstappen delivered a standout lap to secure second place in Shanghai Sprint Qualifying.
Max Verstappen wasn’t expecting much from Sprint Qualifying in Shanghai—but he walked away smiling after clinching a spot on the front row.
“I’m very happy,” said the Red Bull driver. “We were quite off the pace in practice, so to end up on the front row is a great result. The lap felt really good.”
Verstappen admitted switching from medium to soft tires without much reference data made things tricky. “To be just 0.018 seconds off pole is a bit surprising, honestly. I didn’t think we’d be this close, so starting P2 is a really nice surprise.”
While the balance of the car wasn’t terrible, Verstappen said it was mostly about lacking raw speed. “We were just slow. But that makes today even more motivating—it shows the team is pushing and extracting everything we can. Sometimes, you have to fight harder to find the pace.”
Looking ahead to the Sprint, Verstappen has his eye on the McLarens. “Piastri and Norris looked very strong before their final laps, so they’ll be tough to keep behind. Hopefully we get some good racing in—that would be fun.”
On the other end of the grid, Liam Lawson’s day ended in frustration. The New Zealander had shown early promise, but a mistake on his final run left him 20th and last.
Lawson Last After Costly Error in Sprint Shootout
“I went off on my second lap, which really hurt us,” Lawson admitted. “The first run was decent and we were building from there, but I stayed out to try and cool the tires and just couldn’t bring the temperatures down enough. We started too hot and I struggled the whole lap. It’s disappointing.”
- Discover More>Vasseur baffled by Hamilton’s shock Sprint pole
- Follow us on >Facebook and >Twitter for F1 updates
Verstappen Stuns with P2 After Tough Shanghai Start
Verstappen Stuns with P2 After Tough Shanghai Start
