Verstappen confident Red Bull have closed gap on rivals after strong sprint qualifying

[p]The four times world ‌champion, a two times winner in ‌Miami, qualified fifth on Friday for ‌the Saturday sprint race.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/verstappen-max/UV3mgeXB/"]Verstappen[/a] has been unhappy with Formula 1's new ‌rules era, even mulling his ⁠future in ‌the sport, and has yet to finish ​higher than sixth in three races and a sprint ​so far this season.[/p][p][b]"It feels a bit more normal, a bit more ⁠together,”[/b] the ​Dutch driver said of his upgraded car ahead of the first race in more than a month.[/p][p][b]"There ‌are still, of course, things we are working on, but it’s been a really positive step for us. The last few races, we were like over a second behind. I would say we have almost halved that gap now, ‌so that’s very positive."[/b][/p][embed guid="b6c1c8f2-bde1-45c0-9abf-3efe43c03d84" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2050326425689804838" social-type="twitter" /][p]Verstappen's best ​lap time on Friday was ‌0.592 slower than McLaren's pole sitter [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/norris-lando/WSVABbVF/"]Lando Norris[/a], the champion who took Verstappen's title last year.[/p][p]His French teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hadjar-isack/8SAk38Ui/"]Isack Hadjar[/a] qualified ninth, ⁠1.553 off ⁠the pole ‌lap.[/p]