Question marks surround Helmut Marko after Verstappen’s Qualifying setback

For Max Verstappen and Red Bull, qualifying didn’t go as expected, although the RB21 had already shown clear signs throughout the weekend of struggling to adapt to the Hungarian circuit compared to the competition.

After finishing both FP2 and FP3 sessions, the Dutchman made some progress in qualifying but couldn’t get higher than eighth place — finishing even behind Gabriel Bortoleto, who has been impressing with strong performances in recent races.

Following Verstappen's comments after qualifying, Red Bull advisor Marko was also filled with questions after the qualification, he told Motorsport Magazin: ‘’We have come significantly closer and the difference has been halved (referring to the fight between Verstappen and Tsunoda). Surprisingly, we were faster on used tires than on new ones; something is not right.''

Marko was also asked what he expects from the race on Sunday, he said that Verstappen has little chance in the race: "It won't be easy starting from P8... We can't change anything, except the setting of the wings. We are not optimistic.''