MOTORSPORT – REIGNING four-time Formula One drivers’ world champion Max Verstappen is hoping to put up a solid fight in tonight’s F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2025, despite admitting that Red Bull Racing have had a “difficult” weekend so far in the kingdom.
Verstappen was out of the top five in the two practice sessions he participated in at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) over the past two days and last night qualified seventh for this evening’s 57-lap night race.
Verstappen and Red Bull Racing enjoyed a clean sweep of last season’s events in Sakhir, with the Dutch superstar securing pole and winning the grand prix while setting the race’s fastest lap. Red Bull Racing were also the victorious constructors in the race.
“We did everything we could today but that was the maximum we could get in qualifying,” said Verstappen last night.
“The whole weekend has been difficult. We struggled with the general balance of the car but also the brakes, with the red flag it was hard to get many clean laps in. My final lap was better, and I tried to extract the most out of it, but it was still not good enough compared to the others.
“There’s been very poor grip and we’ve played around with the setup but none of it really worked for us this weekend.
“Historically, high-deg tracks have been good for us but tomorrow will be quite tough and we’re not sure what to expect at the moment. Naturally, tomorrow I will do the best I can and we hope we can fight with the teams ahead.”
Verstappen was the winner in the last two grands prix in Bahrain – first in 2023 and then again last year.
Teammate Yuki Tsunoda, competing in only his second event with Red Bull Racing, was more upbeat, having joined Verstappen in Q3 and qualifying 10th for tonight.
“I have ticked the box of reaching Q3 and that is the first step for me,” said the popular Japanese driver. “I think it was good execution, I had the red flag in Q1 with no time set and then I only had one set to make it through to Q3.
“I am reasonably happy, although P10 is not always the place as a driver that you want to be. It was a good recovery from practice, I will take it for sure, it could be a lot worse, considering the struggles I had in FP3. It is just hard to find the performance in this car and I am still learning how to do it best.
“It requires a lot of concentration to stay in the window this car needs to perform. It was not the easiest car today, you saw that with Max qualifying P7, which is unusual. We just have to, as a team, make a step forward and I need to keep working hard.”
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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