Red Bull and Max Verstappen headed into Qatar with a big problem to solve- the pace of Mercedes. The pace from Brazil was again apparent in the practice sessions and qualifying as Lewis Hamilton took the pole ahead of his rival. But then, things got from bad to worse for Max Verstappen.

The championship leader was given a five-place grid penalty ahead of the race. This meant he had to start his race from P7.

Although Verstappen quickly nullified any effect of the penalty by climbing up the grid in the opening laps. The Dutchman finished second, far behind Hamilton, but it could’ve been different if not for the penalty.

Verstappen’s take on the penalty

The Dutch driver revealed that he was expecting the penalty. He took a cheeky dig at FIA after the race, saying he never gets any ‘presents’ from them.

“No surprises there, I knew even last night that I never get presents from them”, Verstappen said as reported in The Guardian.

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Verstappen revealed that despite the penalty, he was determined to go higher and keep the gap between him and Hamilton as low as possible, which they successfully did.

“I was just motivated to move ahead … I was determined to keep the gap small the whole race, which we did.”

Max Verstappen comes away happy from Qatar

Although the race result wasn’t as Verstappen would’ve wanted, he is taking away many positives from the Losail circuit. The Red Bull described the track to be ‘a lot of fun to drive’ and ‘really quick’.

Verstappen finished on the podium, but crucially he got the fastest lap as well. The Dutchman admits the battle will go until the end, but he’s content and feels excited.

“.. it’s going to be very difficult to the end, but it keeps it exciting.”

As F1 finally wrapped the triple-header, we now have two races to go in the season. Max Verstappen’s lead over Lewis Hamilton has now been cut short to a mere eight points.

This is surely one of the greatest tests the young driver will ever face in his career, such is the enormity of the challenge and the pressure. But how does he feel about it?

“I feel good.”

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