F1 News
Verstappen sees one and only way to win in China: 'They all retire'
Max Verstappen finished in fourth place in qualifying, after he failed to improve on his final lap. While the Dutchman explains that his car is comfortable, he does not really believe he can move forward on Sunday.
Verstappen says he can win if rivals 'all DNF'
"They all retire in front of me," Verstappen began to Sky Sports about his chances for the Chinese Grand Prix after qualifying. "I do [need that]. We are not fast enough. I think the lap was all right, but it's just very difficult to get a consistent balance out of it every lap, every corner basically. So it was tough, but we are working on it, we are trying to do better," he reviewed the results in Saturday's second session.
Verstappen 'comfortable' with the RB21
"I feel comfortable, let's say like that, like confident to attack corners, but sometimes, my input is not what I'm getting back from the car," the defending world champion continued in Shanghai.
He added: "And that makes it quite difficult to nail every corner. Plus, then in the race also, when it's not doing that, you're probably degrading your tyres harder than cars around you. And that's not ideal."
Verstappen also thinks there is a single thing missing, and that is the raw pace, rather than not being comfortable. "I actually feel good. I probably feel in the best shape again, driving-wise, compared to even the years before. I feel like you know I'm going to qualifying, I'm nailing the laps, I'm doing a good job. The race so far we're executing everything that we can, but when the base pace is lacking and there's not much that you can do," he concluded.
After the Sprint, where he finished in third position, Verstappen only trails Lando Norris by two points in the drivers' standings. The two rivals will line up alongside each other on Sunday, as they finished in P3 and P4 respectively in qualifying.
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