Max Verstappen: I didn't think I'd qualify second.

      After qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix sprint, the Red Bull Racing drivers experienced the opposite emotions. Max Verstappen, who showed the second time, is very happy with his result, and his team-mate Liam Lawson is upset that he ruined the decisive attempt in the first session and ended up twentieth.

      Max Verstappen (2nd): "I'm very happy. We were quite far behind in practice, so I'm glad to be in the front row at the start of the sprint.

      I got a very good lap. It's always difficult to switch from Medium to Soft tyres without guidance, and in the end I was only 0.018 seconds behind the pole time. I didn't think at all that I would qualify in the first row, so I am very happy to show the second time.

      Everything was fine with the balance of the car. We're just not fast enough, but it's a good motivation for the team – when there are problems with the pace, we need to put as much effort into each lap as possible and squeeze everything out of the car.

      The McLaren drivers looked fast right up to the last attempt, so it will be difficult to keep them behind. I hope the sprint turns out to be interesting and we can compete a little bit."

      Liam Lawson (20th): "I crashed on the second fastest lap. Of course, it's a shame, because in the beginning everything was going well. The first lap turned out well, and I gradually increased the pace.

      I stayed on the track to cool the tires – I had serious problems lowering the temperature of the rubber. At the beginning of the decisive lap, the tires were too hot, which led to problems. It's upsetting."