This is where Verstappen had to 'fight tricky RB21' compared to Hamilton
F1 News
Sky Sports analyst Karun Chandhok has emphasised how hard Max Verstappen is having to work to extract lap time from his Red Bull. The former F1 driver compared the Dutchman's lap time to that of polesitter Lewis Hamilton. Although there was less than half a tenth between the pair, the Indian highlighted how Verstappen didn't seem at one with his car.
Chandhok: Verstappen didn't look 'in the hunt'
"Max never looked like he was gonna be in the hunt, and look at the car, it's not hooked up," Chandhok began on Sky Sports. "Look at in contrast how much Lewis is able to just get the car comfortably to that inside apex. Max is like, hacking at the wheel and missing the apex."
Chandhok studied Verstappen's lap during his analysis at Sky Sports, following the Dutchman around the Shanghai International Circuit. The former F1 driver emphasised how hard the four-time world champion was working to extract lap time from his RB21. On the other side of the Red Bull garage, teammate Liam Lawson struggled and qualified last in 20th place.
Verstappen having to 'fight' to extract laptime
"He's having to fight it," Chandhok continued. "That's the only thing I can say, looking at the lap, compared to Lewis Hamilton's lap, or even Oscar Piastri's, where it just looks trickier to drive. And we saw this in Melbourne as well. He really is having to work much harder to extract the lap time. He's doing it, but it's not comfortable for him to be doing it."
The sprint race will be the 14th time that Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will share the front row of the grid. The 2021 championship rivals have the widely believed fastest car on the grid behind them. McLaren's Oscar Piastri starts in the second row from third whilst Lando Norris gets his race underway from sixth. The sprint race gets underway on Saturday at 03:00 GMT, and you can follow all the action here on GPblog.
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