Verstappen qualified sixth last Friday for the sprint race in Brazil. Thanks in part to Oscar Piastri’s retirement, he crossed the line in P4. More wasn’t possible on the soft tire: "On those soft tires you can’t really push that much anyway," the Red Bull driver explained after the sprint to Viaplay.

The Dutchman explained that he does his best to drive consistent lap times, but he simply couldn’t keep up with the guys ahead of him in the opening phase. "I’m a bit of a diesel, really," he joked alluding to the RB21's lack of pace. "It’s just not fast enough."

According to Verstappen, the start of the race was particularly difficult to manage in his RB21: "A bit too little grip and then the same again — I can’t keep up with them in the first few laps. I just do my own lap times."

The conclusion after the sprint is simple. "Maximized," Verstappen said, short and to the point. Red Bull will make another attempt to solve the problems with his car: "We’re going to adjust some things on the car and hopefully that gives a bit more grip."