What Happened In Qualifying Is 'Exciting For Sport' Says Verstappen
F1Saturday, 02 March 2024 at 09:07
Max Verstappen suggested that what happened during the qualifying for the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix is exciting for the sport of Formula 1.
The Friday qualifying session at the Bahrain International Circuit was the first qualification of the 2024 season. Firstly, the predictions suggested Red Bull should have a clear edge over everyone else.
However, the closer we got to the qualifying, the more unclear it was who would actually have the edge. In the end, Max Verstappen from Red Bull snatched the pole, but the qualifying was even closer than expected. Verstappen told the media:
"Heading into qualifying, no one knew where we all stood and it was very tight, but this is exciting for the sport."
Interestingly, Max Verstappen's pole position time was slower than Charles Leclerc's best time from Q2. But the Ferrari driver couldn't replicate that lap in Q3. Verstappen continued.
"We made some good improvements on the car and also improved performance from FP3 to qualifying and in Q3 we had a little bit more grip."
The triple World Champion was clever and utilized a slipstream on the finish straight from the car in front of him, which was just finishing its flying lap. This could have given him the advantage of two-tenths that he needed to secure the P1 starting position.
"Ultimately, I am pleased with the performance of the car and was happy to be back competing again today. Looking to tomorrow, I have a good feeling and am confident ahead of the race."
If the trend from the end of the most recent season continues, Verstappen and Red Bulls should have the pace advantage in the race. He added:
"We know it is about looking after the tyres in the best way possible as anything can happen in the race. We have a good race car and hopefully we can show the same performance as we did today."
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