Red Bull had a muted sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen finishing 8th and Sergio Perez finishing last.

A low-key sprint saw Verstappen drop 3 places after a scruffy opening lap, and he was only able to recover to 8th, while Perez started from the pit-lane, failed to make progress, made a pit-stop and finished last.

The singular point means that the Milton Keynes-based Red Bull team now have 556 points, and with McLaren taking a one-two finish, it means they are now 67 points behind the Constructor’s Championship leaders with two races to go, while they are also 27 points behind second place Ferrari.

Verstappen had qualified fifth for the sprint, but his hopes at advancing took a dent with a messy opening lap. After being passed off the line by Lewis Hamilton, two moments of oversteer saw the Red Bull struggle to stay planted to the track and he was bypassed by Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly.

While Verstappen did overtake Gasly to get back into the points in a race where only the top 8 get points, he was unable to pass the Haas of Hulkenberg and was only able to add a single point to his total in his first event since becoming a four-time F1 world champion.

Team-mate Perez had a strange start. Having qualified 16th, Red Bull opted to start him in the pits, but a delayed start saw him overtaken by fellow pit-lane starter Franco Colapinto and drop to the back.

Perez was unable to get close, with the Mexican also pitting for a wing change and finishing last of all.

The full Qatar Grand Prix is scheduled to take place tomorrow (01/12), with Verstappen due to start from pole after the team found time ahead of Grand Prix qualifying and Perez starting in 9th position.