Verstappen explains issue that made Sprint Qualifying "difficult"

Red Bull Racing had a day to forget on Friday, with Verstappen finishing more than half a second behind eventual pole-sitter George Russell. The Dutchman ended SQ3 in seventh, with teammate Isack Hadjar in eighth.

Speaking to F1 TV after the session, the four-time world champion explained: "My feeling in the car was not very good. I was struggling a lot with the ride of the car. I couldn't put my foot down, my feet were flying off the pedals. It made it very difficult to be consistent."

Looking ahead, Verstappen concluded: "That is something we need to investigate. We are stuck with that for the Sprint. Hopefully it will be better for [the next] Qualifying."

Speaking ahead of the final session of the day, the Red Bull Racing team boss addressed rumors surrounding Max Verstappen leaving the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

He explained: "Look, no, I’m not concerned with Max following GP. We always have this joke. We are not going to ask Max every week if he’s going to stay. Max is telling us he’s happy at Red Bull. He is involved in every strategic decision we are making. He is at the heart of the project. He is pushing with us and we both want the same thing: getting back to a more competitive package. And he is central to that."

About the meeting between Jos Verstappen and Mercedes CEO and team boss Toto Wolff, Mekies added: "It's completely natural that they can have a conversation with Toto. Max was racing in a Mercedes last week in a GT3. So I don't think it's part of a game plan to get a message or another through."