Marko's blunt reaction to Verstappen’s troubled qualifying in Hungary

19:38, 02 Aug 2025
Updated: 22:27, 02 Aug 2025
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Co-author:Tobia Elia
Helmut Marko has reacted to Max Verstappen's qualifying result in Hungary, as the Dutchman didn't get better than an P8 at the Hungaroring and complained all weekend about a lack of grip.
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.''
Max Verstappen qualifies P8 in Hungary
Max Verstappen qualifies P8 in Hungary
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This is what Marko expects of the race in Hungary

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.''
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Japanese Grand Prix
Overview
Upcoming race
Friday 27.03.26
Practice 1
Fri 02:30 AM
Practice 2
Fri 06:00 AM
Saturday 28.03.26
Practice 3
Sat 02:30 AM
Qualification
Sat 06:00 AM
Sunday 29.03.26
Race
Sun 05:00 AM

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