Max Verstappen is at a loss with his Red Bull Formula 1 car after his Japanese Grand Prix qualifying ended as early as Q2.
The four-time world champion was ninth-fastest in the opening segment of qualifying and set the 10th-quickest lap early in Q2, 0.024s behind team-mate Isack Hadjar and 0.049s ahead of Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Verstappen did improve by a tenth on his final run, but a late effort by Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad earned the rookie a six-tenth gain and 10th position, which displaced the Dutchman into the drop zone.
“I think there is something wrong with the car mate, it’s completely undriveable suddenly in this qualifying”, Verstappen told race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase on the radio. “Jumping on high speed in the rear suddenly.”
The Red Bull driver was none the wiser as he headed to the media pen after the session, explaining the team had struggled to quench the RB22’s flaws.
“We made changes all weekend, but at the same time we also have some problems in the car that we’re trying to fix, and I guess it was worse again in qualifying compared to FP3,” Verstappen commented, despite a set-up tweak he described as “not that big”.
“So, as soon as you really tried to push, for me it was just all over the place. Really not good, and also really doesn’t give you confidence to attack any corner. For me, I was just stuck, I couldn’t push more.”
Verstappen did clarify that those issues weren’t related to the power unit, which ‘isn’t their biggest problem’ – “from the car side I think we are really struggling at the moment,” he added.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Hadjar went on to be outqualified by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly by a whopping three tenths in Q3, compounding yet another difficult session for Red Bull, after its French driver qualified third at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
“We can see that Melbourne was better, and then somehow some things happened with the car while not even having touched the car, so that is always a big problem,” Verstappen pointed out matter-of-factly.
Asked how frustrating it was to drive a tricky car on a Suzuka track he loves, with new F1 machinery he dislikes, Verstappen replied: “I mean, I’m not even frustrated anymore, you know, I’m beyond that, so that’s a bit – I don’t know the right word in English for it. Yeah, I don’t know what to make of it, to be honest.
“I don’t get upset about it, I don’t get disappointed or frustrated by it anymore with what’s going on, so…”
As to whether he can see some light at the end of the tunnel, Verstappen pondered: “I mean, for sure we’ll fix a few things, hopefully in the coming weeks, months.”
In the meantime, he’ll start tomorrow’s Japanese GP from the 11th spot on the grid.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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