Max Verstappen has sent a warning to Red Bull’s rivals that it will be even stronger in the race after the reigning champion was “surprised” by his pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Having appeared to be a dominant force in pre-season testing, the paddock consensus was that Red Bull would be a long way clear of the rest in the opening round.
However, Verstappen reacted negatively to changes the team made for Friday practice, repeatedly arguing the car “doesn’t feel the same as it did in testing”.
Despite not leading the times in Q1 or Q2, Verstappen rose to the top of the order in the final qualifying shootout, claiming pole position by 0.138s over his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
Following his struggles, Verstappen professed shock that he was able to claim his 21st career pole in Formula 1. The Dutchman is hopeful that Red Bull’s tendency to have a stronger car on a Sunday will enable him to convert his qualifying superiority into a 36th career win.
“I was actually positively surprised being on pole after the struggles I had in practice,” Verstappen admitted. “So that’s positive and, normally, our race car is better. I think it’s been a bit of a tough start to the weekend yesterday and today.
“Not really finding my rhythm. But luckily, in qualifying, I think we managed to put the best pieces together.
“Compared to last year, I think everyone knows a bit more what they’re doing with the car. So naturally, I think you already start off better and more competitive.
“The changes I think slowed down the car a bit, but we are still going faster.
“So that’s, of course, a great thing to see,” he continued. “I think again, throughout the year, you will see that everyone is increasing their performance again a lot.”
The Bahrain International Circuit represents one of only four tracks on the current F1 calendar Verstappen is yet to win at, despite him claiming pole for the 2021 grand prix.
The current two-time F1 champion would wound up second in that race after a late duel with Lewis Hamilton to add to the second place he accrued in the 2020 edition.
Verstappen’s team-mate, however, has previously won at the venue – albeit the Sakhir GP in 2020 run on a shorter track configuration – and Perez will keep him company on the front row.
Perez had sat third before the final runs, eventually taking advantage of Ferrari’s tactical decision to withdraw Charles Leclerc from the fight to move up to second.
But, like Verstappen, the Mexican racer conveyed that he was not entirely happy inside the cockpit of his RB19 during qualifying.
“I wasn’t totally comfortable with the balance,” Perez stated. “I believe certainly, you can always improve a tenth on your lap.
“But I think to get this start for the team is really special.
“If anything, we prepared much more to the race. We have more of a Sunday race car at the moment underneath us. We knew we had to do some compromises for quali, which we ended up doing.
“They were not ideal. But hopefully tomorrow it pays out and we can have a very strong race.”
The season-opening Bahrain GP gets underway at 18:00 local time, as Red Bull and Verstappen aim to retain the titles it won convincingly last season.
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