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Max Verstappen admitted to having mixed feelings about the new Red Bull RB18 after the Dutchman was able to secure P2 in Saturday's qualifying session for the 2022 F1 Bahrain GP.
Speaking to former F1 driver-turned-television analyst David Coulthard, the Dutchman was asked how he was coping with the new car and the radical changes that have come with it. Verstappen said:
“Not fantastic but also not too bad. Otherwise, you cannot be in this position. A few things, of course, to look into and we’ll try to do better for next time but here, it’s a bit of a [compromise]. You want to be good in qualifying of course but you also really want to make sure your car is working for the race because the tires are really struggling a lot more there and it’s a bit different to some other tracks. But, it was nice. It was a really close battle with Carlos [Sainz] and Charles [Leclerc] of course at the end so they did a really good job over the winter and hopefully it’s going to be an exciting race.”
Max Verstappen's best lap time around the Sakhir Circuit was 1:30.681 in Q3, a smidge shy of polesitter Charles Leclerc, who clocked in a time of 1:30.558 in his Ferrari F1-75.
Max Verstappen's aggressive driving style makes him popular, claims Red Bull boss Christian Horner
Max Verstappen's aggressive driving style and tenacious nature set him apart from other F1 drivers and made him popular, according to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
During an interview with the BBC in the United Kingdom, Horner defended his Dutch driver, who has signed a mammoth deal with Red Bull, by saying:
“Max [Verstappen] is an aggressive driver. And his driving style has been one of the reasons he was voted the most popular driver in Formula 1. You always know he’s going to give 110%. I think his driving style was very mature last season [2021]. Let’s not forget that others also make mistakes. There are other drivers who also do aggressive actions. But yes, Max is an aggressive driver, it’s in his DNA. He always looks for the limits and learns from his own experiences or mistakes. There is no doubt in my mind about that.”
Verstappen's title defense begins on Sunday, March 20 at the 2022 F1 Bahrain GP where the 24-year-old will start on the front row, behind Charles Leclerc.
