Max Verstappen has criticised the newly resurfaced track at the Lusail circuit, claiming it didn’t allow the drivers to “push a tiny bit more” during qualifying in Qatar.
Verstappen blitzed the competition again to claim a 10th pole position of the year, beating Mercedes’ George Russell by four-tenths in the sole-running Red Bull in Q3.
The qualifying hour saw plenty of drivers struggle to get to grips with the recently updated track surface, resulting in many venturing wide and a multitude of lap times being deleted for exceeding track limits.
Amid the Sprint format’s presence allocating the drivers only one practice session in unrepresentative conditions, Verstappen admits he was relieved to emerge on top.
“Yeah, I mean, I think it was difficult for everyone out there, you know, with the new tarmac, there was not a lot of grip,” he reflected.
“And as soon as you, I wouldn’t even say overstep it, but you tried to just carry a little bit more speed into the corner, the rear really wants to step out and that made it very tricky to find the limit in qualifying run after run, to see how much the track was improving, but then not overdo it.
“We tried to just follow the track as best as we could. And yeah, my first run in Q3 was good. I was happy with the balance of the car, considering the track conditions.
“Overall, a good day and more than I could have hoped for really, because it’s always a bit hectic, you know, the Sprint format, to after one session optimise the car.
“And then especially with this new tarmac as well, it’s probably even more difficult, but it was good.”
Verstappen was eventually unable to improve on his final attempt, running wide at Turn 4 and proceeding to abandon the lap.
Although Verstappen concedes he was trying to “carry more speed”, he asserts that the tricky track surface has prevented drivers from properly pushing to the limit in Qatar.
“I tried to carry a little bit more speed into the corner and it just gave up on me,” he explained. “I knew, of course, I had that lap already. So I was like, I’ll just try to push a little bit more and really, you know, try to give it everything I have.
“But it’s the track surface. At the moment it doesn’t let you push a tiny bit more. As soon as you stress a little bit too much it really snaps at you and you can’t correct it. So that’s a bit of a bit of a shame. But yeah, it was nothing major.”
Nevertheless, Verstappen comfortably claimed pole, ending 0.441s clear of George Russell, who profited from Lando Norris’ track limits infringement to seize second.
Pressed on how much time was on the table, Verstappen said: “I have no idea, because I only got to Turn 4. But the lap before was alright. But for sure, there’s always a little bit more to it, because the track I think was improving every time. But it was OK.”
Verstappen can secure the Drivers’ Championship on Saturday by claiming three points in the truncated Sprint Race.
However, the Red Bull ace insists that his mentality in Sunday’s grand prix will be the “same as always”, regardless of whether he’s a three-time World Champion by that stage.
“I mean, it doesn’t really change anything,” he continued. “I just want to have a good weekend.
“And of course, I know in the back of my mind that’s happening, but it doesn’t add any extra pressure or whatever. I just want to enjoy the weekend and try to do the best I can.”
