For Max Verstappen, Qatar qualifying ends with third place. Not a result he’s fully satisfied with, yet still a step forward compared to Friday’s struggles. The improvement is there, but the world champion continues to stress the limitations shaping his weekend.
“Yes, qualifying went a bit better even if we’re still quite far off,” he explained. “I’m a bit happier, but we have limits that don’t allow us to push more on the fast lap. At least starting from the second row gives us some opportunities, because overtaking here is quite difficult.”
Race pace, however, remains an unknown. “Realistically, it’s going to be a tough weekend. It hasn’t gone the way I wanted so far, but we’ll see what we can do tomorrow. The situation with the car is still not fantastic, let’s put it that way.”
A far-from-ideal scenario for Verstappen, who will need a strong race to stay in the title fight and try to match a McLaren that once again seems to have an edge.
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All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Qatar GP 2025
