The race weekend in Brazil was meant to be the one where Verstappen could bounce back in the title fight. After Lando Norris’ victory in Mexico, many assumed Red Bull might once again have the fastest car at Interlagos. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case in São Paulo after Friday.

During the only free practice session, Verstappen already struggled significantly with his RB21, not to mention Yuki Tsunoda, who went straight into the wall early on as well. For the Dutchman, the car was manageable on the hard tyres, but the soft tyres didn’t work at all.

That problem wasn’t fixed for sprint qualifying either. In SQ1, Tsunoda was knocked out early, and Verstappen only just scraped through to SQ3. Being in P8 put him in the danger zone in the second session, but a spin by Charles Leclerc prevented other drivers from setting a faster lap.

SQ3 then showed just how little could be extracted from the RB21. Verstappen set a purple first sector, but lost his advantage in Sectors 2 and 3. His onboard in Sector 2 says it all: the four-time world champion’s car simply wouldn’t turn into the slow-speed corners. A stark contrast to the McLaren.

Afterwards, Verstappen didn’t mince his words about his qualifying. “It was just crap,” said the Dutchman.

Of course, Verstappen was asked about the chance of rain for the sprint race, but he didn’t care much about that. “I just hoped I had a better car, but in the rain, with how everything feels now, it won’t be pleasant.”

And that’s not surprising. After wins in Italy, Azerbaijan, and at the Circuit of the Americas, there was hope that Verstappen would be back in the title fight. With a 36-point deficit and the upcoming races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi that suit the McLarens better on paper, Brazil was the perfect opportunity to close the gap. But on Friday, Red Bull simply disappointed.

Helmut Marko wrote off achieving a result in Sprint on Friday. It’s all about Sunday's Grand Prix now; and Red Bull needs to learn quickly. The setup has to be right for a better result in qualifying and a stronger race in what is likely to be a dry Grand Prix.

All in all, the weekend that carried so many expectations has started with a major setback for Red Bull. It’s now up to the team to put in a lot of work from Friday to Saturday to show up much stronger in qualifying and the Grand Prix. Otherwise, this weekend could prove to be a decisive blow to Verstappen’s title hopes.