Verstappen: We will see what we can do in the race

However, Verstappen's focus is now fully on Sunday's Grand Prix, as he will be looking to deny Lando Norris any chance to secure the F1 Drivers' Championship in Lusail while also making sure he closes in on Oscar Piastri, who will start the race from pole.

And while Qualifying was somehow positive, the Dutchman could not manage more than fourth in the Sprint Race, damage limitation at best.

He reflected: "It was a tough start to the weekend with the Sprint, as we were not entirely happy with the behavior of the car. We were a bit off the pace and, although we got a good start, there was still a bit of work to do with the car.

"In Qualifying, the performance of the car was better," Verstappen went on. "There were a few limitations, including understeer, which this track can highlight, but we still maximised our performance. Before the session, we changed a few things with the car to make the most out of it with our prep.

"Overall, I'm pretty happy with P3 and we will see what we can do in the race," he claimed. "Hopefully we can have a strong day tomorrow and you never know what can happen around here, there are a lot of medium speed corners which we can tend to struggle with, but it will also be about looking after our tyres.

"The two-stop strategy can work for you or against you, but we will find out tomorrow. On race day, the most important thing will be to try and have a good start.

"We might struggle to stay with the McLarens, but you never know what can happen, we will try everything that we can," Verstappen concluded.

The reigning F1 Champion, now 25 points behind Norris in the Drivers' Standings, got a helping hand from his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who started ahead of him in the Sprint Race and had a decent launch, opening the way for and handing over fourth place.

Tsunoda said: "The Sprint was good for me and then Qualifying didn't follow the same pattern. I got a good start in the Sprint, I could have maybe taken more risks but I wanted to keep the car safe.

"Max also got a good start and as a Team we were able to make it work and I could help Max out," he added.

Red Bull Racing boss Lauren Mekies commented on his team's Saturday at the Lusail International Circuit; he said: "We managed to recover a little from Friday in the Sprint, as Max did well to make up positions on a track on which it is tricky to pass.

"The Team, Max, and Yuki have never given up in the search for performance, and we had a fairly unpleasant car at times over the weekend.

"Everyone on track and back at base kept working to find the improvements and while we've not quite reached the pace of the McLarens, the gap has closed a little in Qualifying this evening.

"Heading into the race tomorrow there is the mandatory two-stop in the race here, which could produce some surprises, and we will be ready to take any opportunity coming our way," Mekies concluded.