Max Verstappen admitted things were tough during sprint qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix
The first day of the Chinese Grand Prix was a total roller coaster as fans and stakeholders witnessed a lot of activity from the F1P cla*sification to qualifying for the sprint race. They also witnessed different drivers such as Max Verstappen at the top of the charts and how quickly the charts turned from F1P to sprint qualifying, as drivers who finished at the bottom of the table in F1P, such as Lewis Hamilton, were seen as the second driver at the top. Chart in sprint qualifications.
Credit – F1 TV
The Chinese Grand Prix has started nicely, and it is too early to say who will break the ice and win the sprint, and after that, the whole big race has yet to go down. The return of the Shanghai circuit has certainly had a strong impact on the teams and drivers and should make for a great race going forward. At this stage, discussion revolved around Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, with McLaren making a strong statement as Lando Norris took first place in sprint qualifying.
Max Verstappen reveals what went wrong in Chinese Grand Prix sprint qualifying
Sprint qualifying results saw Lewis Hamilton second and Max Verstappen fourth. During the post-race interview, Verstappen was seen saying, “It’s hard to keep the car on track and it never started for me so it felt like driving on ice.” a lot Fans took this qualification quite seriously, but “real” Formula 1 fans believed that he could cross the line and win the sprint, and many fans also believed that this Chinese Grand Prix could put Verstappen in a higher position.
Max Verstappen is one of the highly qualified drivers in Formula 1, with an unbroken winning record for Red Bull. But his luck never worked out at the Chinese Grand Prix, and it was a shock to fans that he had no wins at the Shanghai International Circuit. After returning to this track after 5 years, in FP1, Verstappen finished third and in the first sprint race of 2024, he managed to finish 4th just behind Fernando Alonso.
Formula 1 fans troll Max Verstappen as Lewis Hamilton overtakes him in sprint qualifying
Be it any sport, fan comments are the most supportive and social media is the best way for a player to rise or fall. Similarly, Verstappen’s fans, even though he finished 4th in sprint qualifying, believed that he would get the better of the drivers on sprint race day and that Verstappen could go on to win the sprint race and the Grand Prix. The Dutchman’s fans are all excited for the race and value him highly, as he can overtake everyone at the perfect time.
Currently, Verstappen has been part of 189 Grands Prix, with 57 wins, including 101 podiums. Hamilton, on the other hand, has been a part of 336 Grands Prix and has 103 wins with 197 podiums to his name. Hamilton has won the title seven times, while Verstappen has won only three so far. This sprint qualifying caused fans to raise comments and troll the Dutchman as Hamilton took two places over Verstappen.
Verstappen tried 3 times in a rocketship and still got ownership 😭😭😭
— I have no name (@vvoidlap58) April 19, 2024
Pole 2s behind Max Verstappen 😭
He is caught. Max is already in China, so F4 for that— Mark | Formula 1 🏎 (@433_marc) April 19, 2024
Did the Red Bull boys wake up or not?
— Crypto Feras (@CryptoFeras) April 19, 2024
It will be interesting to see: can the top drivers in the charts keep their pace high and finish strong in the sprint races, or will they not be in the top 3 to secure the victory in the scheduled sprint races? Next? Verstappen will be ready to lock horns in this race and prove why he is the best in the business, but Hamilton seems keen to finish high for his team and the competition is set to be fierce. Remember, Verstappen has never won at the Shanghai circuit; Could this race be a game changer?