Appreciation for Verstappen's unique achievements grows with each Grand Prix

Max Verstappen's pole position has once again left a great impression on the competition. In the paddock, Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson were particularly impressed by their Red Bull colleague.

Lawson and Hadjar had both already been eliminated in Q2 and were done with their television and print media duties. However, they stayed with the print media for a while, because the drivers were still doing their final Q3 runs. Who would take pole position.

Hadjar and Lawson went from one surprise to the next. 'It's crazy', Hadjar shouted after Max's fastest lap. The paddock was particularly excited by the very small margin to Oscar Piastri, who according to many had the best car at his disposal in the McLaren.

Where does Verstappen make the difference?

Where Verstappen often took pole positions in recent years, with everyone sighing because he had taken another one 'yet again', it was now very different.

Everyone sees that Verstappen does not have the best car, which is why the fact that he still takes poles is seen as a much greater achievement than the poles he achieved in previous years.

Yuki Tsunoda also did not seem to know where to look. In all the other sessions, Tsunoda was close to his teammate, but in qualifying Verstappen increasingly pulled away. "Maybe Max, through the qualifying, the conditions
[are] coming towards him. For me it was worse when the track got better and better so that's a bit difficult part," Tsunoda stated after the session. The Japanese driver was nine tenths slower than Verstappen in the same RB21.

After all the unrest in Bahrain, Verstappen ensures with this pole that he keeps himself in the race for the world title. Where Lando Norris, not for the first time, gets himself into trouble, Verstappen maximises time and again. Give him a small chance of a pole or victory, and Verstappen will convert it into a victory.

Things have to and will improve at Red Bull Racing if they really want to compete for the championship, but Verstappen proves that he only needs half a chance to be successful in Formula 1. The reigning world champion personally enjoyed his dominant years more, but these seasons ensure that the 'neutral viewer' increasingly appreciates Max.