Max Verstappen’s pursuit of a fifth Formula 1 World Championship encountered a significant obstacle when Yuki Tsunoda out-qualified him for the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race. This marks the first time in 440 days that a Red Bull teammate has surpassed the Dutch driver in any qualifying session.
Verstappen will start Saturday’s sprint from sixth position, one place behind teammate Tsunoda on the third row. The narrow margin of 0.009 seconds separated the two Red Bull drivers during the qualifying session at Lusail International Circuit.
This represents Verstappen’s first qualifying defeat to a teammate since the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Sergio Perez secured the superior grid position. The current championship standings show Verstappen level with Oscar Piastri and 24 points behind leader Lando Norris.
#F1SPRINT QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION
Piastri P1, Norris P3, Verstappen P6 #F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/Rv777QKDDB
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 28, 2025Throughout the qualifying session, Verstappen reported significant handling problems with his car. The driver described experiencing “really bad bouncing” combined with “aggressive understeer” that transformed into oversteer at high speeds.
Verstappen characterized his car’s performance as “not good” and explained that setup changes made after practice failed to resolve the fundamental balance issues. “With this balance, in the sprint at least, it will not be a lot of fun,” he noted.
Read: Oscar Piastri Wins Belgian Grand Prix Practice, Outpaces Verstappen
Before the Qatar weekend, Verstappen acknowledged his diminishing championship prospects required nearly perfect results combined with difficulties for his rivals. The qualifying setback compounds challenges following McLaren’s double disqualification at last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Verstappen indicated the sprint race would primarily involve damage limitation while the team works to understand and resolve the car’s handling problems before Sunday’s main event qualification.
The three-time world champion faces increasing pressure to close the championship gap with limited opportunities remaining in the 2025 Formula 1 season.
