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Max Verstappen

Verstappen shocked at ‘crazy’ Red Bull swing

Max Verstappen claimed pole position at the Lusail International Circuit, his first since the Austrian Grand Prix in June and a result the Dutchman did not expect.

Verstappen
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Max Verstappen claims he had no idea changes to his Red Bull would produce "such a swing in performance" after clinching pole position for the Qatar Grand Prix.

The Dutchman set the fastest lap time at the Lusail International Circuit, bettering Mercedes' George Russell by just over half-a-tenth of a second.

The 27-year-old was, however, noted by the stewards for exceeding the maximum lap time allowed on one of his preparation laps. It has led to a summons and could still potentially yield a grid penalty.

Nevertheless, it is his first pole position since the Austrian Grand Prix, in June.

"Yeah, crazy," he said whilst reflecting on the session upon getting out of his RB20. "Honestly, I also didn't expect that.

"Well done to the team to give me a car that feels a bit more connected, and once the cars a bit more together, you can push harder and it felt a lot better out there in qualifying for me."

"We did change a bit on the car, but I never thought it would make such a swing in performance, so that's promising.

"I hope, of course, it also lasts tomorrow in the race. I don't know that yet, but it just felt already a lot more stable over one lap, and that's exactly what we need. Very happy to be on pole, it's been a while."

Looking ahead at the grand prix, the recently-crowned four-time F1 drivers' champion predicts a difficult 57-lap encounter.

"It's going to be a tough race physically, but also mainly on the tyres, just making sure that you're good on them," he explained.

"The front left around here gets eaten up quite a lot, so it's all about managing that tomorrow, but I hope that with the setup that we have on the car now it will be a bit better.

"It's all very close behind. You could see in the sprint, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari, they were all quick, so now it seems like we are in that mix - and I hope tomorrow as well."

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