Max Verstappen reveals one aspect of Qatar Grand Prix which surprised him

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Max Verstappen had a frustrating time at the Qatar Grand Prix but there was one aspect of the race which he did enjoy.

The Red Bull driver was hit by a grid penalty which left him starting seventh, well behind his title rival Lewis Hamilton on pole. It meant Hamilton enjoyed a procession to victory and closed the gap at the top of the world standings to only eight points heading into the final two races.

But Verstappen was able to limit the damage in impressive style, carving through the field to finish second, and he revealed he was surprised just how much opportunity there was to overtake.

“It wasn’t too bad and it wasn’t too good!” he said in a Red Bull Q&A session, of the Qatar race. “I was positively surprised by the overtaking possibilities there, the start was good and necessary of course after the penalty.

“We still lacked quite a bit of pace compared to Mercedes so we’ll see how we get on this weekend. The track in Qatar was definitely one of my favourites, it was a lot of fun to drive.”

Next up is this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, making its F1 debut and thought to be favourable for the Mercedes cars rather than Red Bull, before the finale at Abu Dhabi.