Max Verstappen admits that it was a "shock" to struggle with his Red Bull prior to qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix after the team's good form in pre-season testing. The Dutchman had difficulties with the balance of the RB19 throughout the practice sessions at the Bahrain International Circuit on Friday and Saturday. As such, his pole position in qualifying came as something of a surprise. "After testing I was very happy, and then I jumped in the car in FP1 and it was a big shock," Verstappen told media, including RacingNews365.com . "I just couldn't get the balance right through all the practice sessions. That's why I think what we achieved in qualifying was very good. "Qualifying to race is anyway a different car in terms of how it behaves, but you still want to be quick over one lap and that was a big struggle for me. "We just need to analyse everything what got onto the car for the race weekend, even if it's the same part but new, just to check everything for next weekend again."
Verstappen changed 'a lot' on car
When asked how much he had had to change the car during the weekend in Bahrain, Verstappen explained: "A lot. "I went left and right and back to the middle and found a bit of a compromise. That's a bit unusual that you make such big changes. "But, like I said, luckily in qualifying that's probably the best balance I've had throughout the weekend so far." In terms of the race itself, Verstappen feels positive about Red Bull's long-run pace. "That should normally be our stronger point than the one-lap pace, so hopefully we can show that again tomorrow,' the two-time World Champion said. Verstappen will be joined on the front row by teammate Sergio Perez, with the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz lining up behind in P3 and P4 respectively.
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