Max Verstappen of Red Bull managed to secure a front row start for the F1 Chinese GP Sprint race, overcoming early struggles to line up second on the grid, while Liam Lawson starts last.
Despite his frustration at narrowly missing out on pole, Verstappen acknowledged the team’s progress, especially after a difficult start in practice where they looked slowest of the big 4.
“I’m very happy,” Verstappen said. “We were quite a bit off in practice, so to be on the front row is great. The lap was very good, and switching from medium to soft is always tricky. I don’t think we should have even been on the front row, so I’m very happy.”
Verstappen and Red Bull faced a tough challenge in setting up the car, but he insisted that the balance itself was not a major issue. Instead, the team worked to extract the most out of their package despite lacking outright pace.
“Nothing dramatic, the balance isn’t bad, we’re just too slow. But this is good for us, a motivation boost. We keep nailing the laps and maximising what we’ve got.”
Looking ahead to the Sprint race, Max Verstappen remained cautious about the prospects for Red Bull, particularly with the McLarens showing strong performance earlier in the session as they were rapid on the mediums in SQ1 and SQ2. However, he expressed hope for an exciting battle.
“They looked very fast until the last run, so keeping them behind will be tough. Hopefully, we can have a fun race.”
Early exit a frustrating setback for Liam Lawson
Meanwhile, Liam Lawson had a more challenging session, being eliminated early in sprint qualifying as he ended up last. The New Zealander lamented the struggles he faced throughout his second lap as his tyres were simply too hot, which ultimately saw him end up dead last after going inside the top 10 on the first runs.
He lost the rear betweens turn 9 and 10 on that final run.
“We started too hot, and I struggled through the lap. It’s frustrating,” he admitted.
The young driver had an off-track moment earlier in the day, but he dismissed any notion that it significantly impacted his performance in sprint qualifying.
“No, that didn’t put me on the back foot. We started okay in quali, and the first lap was decent. It’s just a shame to be out for something so frustrating.”
Despite the disappointing result, Lawson remains optimistic about bouncing back over the remainder of the weekend and expects to make a recovery in the Sprint itself.
“Our pace should be a lot better. We have the sprint race to learn and tomorrow’s quali to improve.”
Looking ahead
As Red Bull prepares for the sprint race, Verstappen will be aiming to hold position, or even challenge for victory over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, while Lawson will be looking to gain experience and recover some ground. With the McLarens proving to be a formidable challenge, the battle for the top positions promises to be an intense one in Shanghai.
