Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is producing one of the most remarkable surges towards the WDC ahead of the F1 Qatar GP. McLaren dominated the first half of the season, but Red Bull put significant work into their car over the summer break. By the Dutch GP, Verstappen had already taken a third of the season’s podiums and held a lead of more than 100 points over Oscar Piastri.
Since Red Bull introduced its major upgrade package, the Dutchman has not missed a podium. His latest win came at the F1 US GP, where McLaren suffered a double disqualification. That result allowed Verstappen to tighten his grip on second in the WDC ahead of the F1 Qatar GP.
With two races remaining and a 24-point gap to Lando Norris, Verstappen intends to maximise the final Sprint of the year. The F1 Qatar GP Sprint Qualifying session initially looked promising, with Verstappen performing strongly. However, he struggled to produce a representative lap in Q3. The session ended with Oscar Piastri setting a new track record, increasing the pressure on Verstappen ahead of the 2025 F1 Qatar GP.
Oversteer or understeer
In a print media session ahead of the F1 Qatar GP, Verstappen admitted he continues to struggle with the car’s aggressive understeer. He stated that he prefers an oversteer balance that allows him to drive on the limit. Instead, he feels stuck between two extremes and remains dissatisfied ahead of the Sprint.
“Yeah, not good from the first lap. Just a really bad bouncing and a very aggressive understeer that would shift into oversteer at high speed. So, yeah, just not what you want to go fast. So then you’re locked in and we tried to, of course, change a few things on the wheel, but it never really worked. So, yeah, that made it quite tricky.”
Frustrating Sprint Qualifying
Verstappen voiced his frustration as the team attempted changes that delivered no improvement. Despite his strong early pace, he managed only sixth place in Sprint Qualifying at the 2025 F1 Qatar GO.
“It clearly wasn’t working well in Qualifying, so that’s something that we need to understand.”
Verstappen not optimistic amid balance woes
Verstappen struggled throughout the session and does not expect the Sprint at the F1 Qatar GP to offer much enjoyment. He recognises the challenge he faces and refuses to underestimate it.
“Yeah, but with this balance, tomorrow in the Sprint at least, it will not be a lot of fun. So it will be more about just trying to survive, I guess, and then make some changes going into Qualifying.”
His comments echo the frustration he showed ahead of the F1 São Paulo GP, when he claimed he could forget about the championship. In that race, he started from the pit lane fought his way to the podium. His performance in Brazil proved that Verstappen’s form can swing in an instant—and anything remains possible at the F1 Qatar GP.
