Red Bull boss Christian Horner admitted the team has a “mountain to climb” at the Qatar Grand Prix as Max Verstappen branded his Formula 1 car’s balance “terrible”. The reigning champions experienced a challenging Sprint race at the Lusail International Circuit as Verstappen collected a single point with a struggle to eighth place.

A Red Bull F1 star is facing a late demotion at the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race after changes were made to the car under parc ferme conditions. Parc ferme, French for 'closed park' is a strictly policed section of F1 where teams and drivers are not allowed to make changes to their cars after a certain point across a race weekend.

Max Verstappen won big in Las Vegas with his fourth world title but the fight for Formula 1’s biggest cash prize is hotting up this week in Qatar.

Qatar this weekend, and Abu Dhabi next – just 53 points lie between McLaren (608), Ferrari (584) and holders Red Bull (555), and there are 88 points up for grabs. Mercedes were one-two in Las Vegas but whatever happens next they will finish a lonely fourth.