Verstappen doesn't hold back on Red Bull criticism

Verstappen ultimately recorded the sixth-fastest time in qualifying, but in conversation with, among others, GPblog, he couldn’t explain where that lap time came from. “The whole session we just had very little top speed and simply no grip. Of course, we did adjust the car—slightly less downforce, a bit better over the kerbs—and then actually just as fast.” In terms of performance, he noticed little difference.

The smaller gap to Isack Hadjar, who seemed to feel much better in the car, is easy to explain according to Verstappen. “On my car, different things were changed than on his, and it clearly doesn’t work the way it should,” he says. The RB22 also isn’t running as expected on the straights. Where exactly that comes from, the four-time world champion can’t explain. “I don’t know. I also didn’t get any info from the team, so it was clear we couldn’t fix it during the session.”

While Red Bull undoubtedly always listens to its star driver, it’s not always possible to give him exactly what he asks for. Moreover, all sorts of things are being tried to improve the Formula 1 car’s performance, which also involves taking risks. Verstappen disagreed with the direction his team wanted to take this weekend but says he decided to let it run its course.

“Sometimes you have to let the team do their thing and clearly make it known that it’s not right and that it doesn’t work like this. I said: go ahead. If you really think this is how it works, then we’ll do that. I’ve pointed it out so many times, but sometimes you just have to feel that it doesn’t work,” Verstappen continues.

According to Verstappen, this specific issue is related to the setup. Not specifically for this weekend, but for speed in general. Asked whether he will also have those problems on race day, Verstappen answers: “Sunday will be wet, then we’ll have different problems. First we just need to make sure the tires work.”