Red Bull drivers have mixed reactions to new 'fast and furious' Sprint Shootout

The Red Bull Racing drivers of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez came up short against Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the first-ever Sprint Shootout at this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The two bulls looked good in the first three races of the season, but are somewhat on the back foot as Formula 1 returns to racing for the first time in four weeks. Still, the margins between Red Bull and Ferrari are very fine.

However, Verstappen was not too happy with his performance during the Sprint Shootout as he only managed to qualify in third for Saturday's Sprint Race.

READ: Inaugural Sprint Shootout a massive success as Charles Leclerc makes history

"I think everything was going quite well, I think the pace was good," Verstappen said, reflecting on the Sprint Shootout.

"But in Q3, in the first run on the soft, I had a big moment in [Turn] 5, 6 and because of that, the tyres were really hot, and then I also had a moment in 7.

"On the peak lap, with the most grip, we had a terrible sector two, so that was not fantastic. We managed to do another lap, which not many other people seemed to be able to pull out. I think the pace is good, it's just a bit unfortunate to be P3."

Enjoyable outing

For both Verstappen and Perez, the Sprint Shootout had differing outcomes. Whereas Verstappen lamented the conditions, teammate Perez revelled in it, praising the new format and comparing it to a fighting ring.

"It was fast and furious! It won't be long before they put a ring on the middle of the track and put all the drivers together to fight. It was enjoyable out there," Perez said.

Still, Verstappen wasn't too perturbed with where he finished and said he perhaps could have secured pole position instead of starting in third place behind Leclerc and