P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Red Bull boss Christian Horner admitted the team has a “mountain to climb” at the Qatar Grand Prix as Max Verstappen branded his F1 car’s balance “terrible”.
The reigning champions faced a tough Sprint race at the Lusail International Circuit, with Verstappen struggling and only managing to secure a single point by finishing in eighth place. Verstappen lost positions early on to Hamilton, Hulkenberg, and Gasly but managed to fight his way back into the points. However, he couldn’t challenge Hulkenberg’s Haas in the final laps due to poor handling of his RB20. Verstappen compared his car’s handling to that of a rally car and expressed frustration over the lack of competitiveness. Team principal Horner acknowledged the challenges and highlighted the need to make significant changes before qualifying to improve performance and match their rivals. Despite the difficulties, Horner found some encouragement in the data gathered from Perez’s car and remained optimistic about the team’s ability to make necessary adjustments and potentially turn the situation around.
