Lewis Hamilton will be desperate to rain on Max Verstappen’s parade by putting in a strong performance in qualifying ahead of this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix. It seems as though Verstappen will wrap up his third Drivers’ Championship title over the next few days, with the Dutchman able to claim the spoils before Sunday’s race even starts.
Verstappen needs just three more points to mathematically secure the championship, which means that a top-six finish in Saturday’s sprint will be enough for him to start celebrating. However, it remains to be seen whether the pressure will get to him in today’s qualifying session, which will set the grid positions for the race on Sunday.
The Red Bull ace was quick to play down his team’s hopes of securing victory earlier this week, saying: “A lot of question marks, we have prepared the best way possible in the simulator but with the tarmac, we don’t know.
“It is going to be very windy which will also make it very difficult for the cars because with these new generation of cars being so big and wide, they are quite sensitive to wind, so a lot of unknowns. But I like to come here, it is a beautiful track to drive and a lot of fun.”
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