Verstappen reveals 'extra painful' factor behind difficult Silverstone qualifying

The four-time world champion could manage only seventh in qualifying, finishing more than seven tenths adrift of polesitter Kimi Antonelli after an afternoon in which the RB22 struggled to show any real competitiveness, even against its closest rivals.

Speaking to F1 TV after qualifying, Verstappen admitted the car had been difficult to drive throughout the entire session due to a poor balance, while also lacking straight-line speed compared to the competition.

He explained that the issue could not be resolved despite several attempts, adding that the lack of top speed forced the car to spend longer at full throttle, increasing battery consumption and creating a vicious cycle that only became more severe as the lap went on. He described the combination of those problems as particularly costly.

When asked what he could realistically target in Sunday's race, Verstappen admitted the team's priority was to first understand and solve its own issues, stressing that the lack of top speed was a major handicap and something that needed to be addressed before the Grand Prix.

Throughout qualifying, the Dutchman made it clear over radio that something was not right with the car. Verstappen repeatedly complained about unusual engine behaviour, first reporting that the engine was not responding normally before later describing the situation as a disaster, insisting the issue was continuing to affect his runs.

"This engine is not responding normal," Verstappen reported over the team radio to his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase. "Ah this is... what a disaster. Unbelievable," he later added.