Max Verstappen is bracing himself for "survival" in the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint race after a tricky qualifying.
Struggling to keep his RB21 on track at times, Verstappen branded his car as "bouncing like an idiot" as he skated wide and damaged the floor across a gravel trap.
The Dutchman ended up sixth on the grid, and was out-qualified by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda for the first time all season - and the first time in any session Verstappen has been out-qualified since Sergio Perez at the 2024 Azerbaijan GP.
Verstappen's two title rivals Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are set to start in first and third, respectively, as the world champion braced for a tricky 19-lap Sprint.
"It was not good from the first lap, I just had really bad bouncing and very aggressive understeer that would shift into oversteer at high speed," Verstappen explained.
"It is not what you want to go faster, so of course, we tried to change a few things, but it didn't work, so it is something we need to understand.
"With this balance in the Sprint, it will not be a lot of fun, so it will just be more about trying to survive and then make some changes going into qualifying."
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