Max Verstappen after missing out on P1 for the Sao Paulo Sprint in Brazil said he was not shocked by the gap between himself and Lewis Hamilton on Friday.
Verstappen was over four-tenths off P1 in qualifying as Hamilton took the top spot for Mercedes. But the Red Bull driver made sure to point out that his rival has a new engine this weekend and stopped short of highlighting the implications of Hamilton's grid penalty for the Grand Prix - which will see him start on pole on Sunday if he finishes second and behind Hamilton in the Sprint.
Asked if he was surprised by the gap between himself and Hamilton, Verstappen replied, as per formula1.com: "Not necessarily. They took a new engine so we know, of course, the first weekend they can definitely put a bit more power in it and around here that can make quite a bit of a difference with such [few] corners."
"Nothing shocking of course, I would have preferred to be ahead. All in all, to be second is good," he maintained, adding, "There are not that many points to gain [on Saturday] so I just need to keep it clean because Sunday is way more important."
Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas was P3 in the Sprint. Sergio Perez took fourth for Red Bull having closed the gap to Bottas ahead, while Pierre Gasly took a stellar fifth on the Sprint grid for AlphaTauri.
The Ferraris lined up sixth and seventh - Carlos Sainz ahead of Charles Leclerc - having outpaced the McLarens with Lando Norris ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in P9.
( With inputs from ANI )
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