F1 champion Max Verstappen was dumbfounded by Red Bull’s performance during qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Verstappen will share the third row of the grid with Lewis Hamilton for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, after managing to set only the sixth fastest time during qualifying.
Throughout the session, the Dutchman struggled to get his tyres to the right temperature, with team-mate Isack Hadjar outperforming Verstappen in Q2, during which he complained that he couldn’t get the front tyres ‘in the window’ and it was like ‘driving on ice’.
The tyres, alongside the pace of the car, plagued Verstappen throughout Saturday’s qualifying and at one stage left Verstappen completely baffled over team radio.
Speaking over the airwaves, Verstappen said: “What’s going on with this straight line speed, it’s completely s***.”
Verstappen baffled by Red Bull performance
When Verstappen stepped into the press pen after qualifying, he was quizzed by Sky Sports’ Rachel Brookes about Red Bull’s performance.
On what was wrong with the car, he replied: “I don’t know, that’s the honest answer. I have no idea what’s going on. Everything is so confusing, and the setup change that we made, I also didn’t like. So, yeah, it was very difficult. Yeah, I don’t know, very confusing.”
When asked further if the rain could work for him, Verstappen responded: “It’s going to be chaos, I think. So, well, you’ll see. I’m not really thinking about that today.”
Speaking for his own website, Verstappen elaborated further and explained: “Truthfully, I don’t know what was going on in qualifying. It was very strange.
“Every lap felt like I kept going slower on the straights. It was somewhat better over the kerbs and bumps, but it also meant I lost downforce. In the end, that does work against you.”
He also added: “I tried something with the car – that’s what the team wanted. So I said: ‘Go ahead.’ But it’s clear to me now that it was the wrong choice.”
For his own website, Verstappen opened up on what to expect in the rain, and added: “It’s already hard enough to keep the slicks in good condition across one lap. In Barcelona, it was already difficult to get the wet tyres working. So that’s a problem I’m anticipating.”
