Max Verstappen expressed frustration after qualifying eighth for the Hungarian Grand Prix, highlighting the struggles his Red Bull team has encountered compared to last year. The four-time world champion, who finished third at the Hungaroring in 2023, admitted that “nothing works” with the car this weekend.
Despite being a frontrunner in previous races, Verstappen found himself three tenths of a second slower than pole winner Charles Leclerc during Q3. His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was eliminated early in Q1, and Verstappen was unable to finish any practice session higher than ninth in Budapest.
Verstappen Details Red Bull’s Ongoing Performance Issues
Verstappen described the current situation as unfamiliar and troubling for the Red Bull team.
“We were a lot more competitive back then,”
he said.
“This weekend, already from lap one, it just felt off. We threw the car around a lot, nothing really gave a direction.”
He elaborated on the difficulty of making adjustments, stating,
“That is the biggest problem. Normally, when you change a lot on the side of it, it will always give you positives or negatives. Now, nothing works. It’s like going around in circles. Nothing gives you any kind of idea of what to do.”
When questioned about potential fixes, Verstappen admitted,
“No, clearly not. Otherwise we would have changed it already. Somehow, this weekend, nothing seems to work.”
Red Bull’s Challenges Shape Verstappen’s Approach
Given these issues, Verstappen was relieved just to reach Q3, acknowledging the difficult nature of the weekend. Currently third in the championship and 81 points behind leader Oscar Piastri, Verstappen recognizes this campaign as one of his more challenging seasons.
“Looking at the whole weekend, I think we are happy to be in Q3,”
Verstappen remarked.
“Because I’ve been more outside of the top 10 than in.”
He described the weekend as tough from a grip standpoint, adding,
“No grip, front and rear. It was the same in qualifying. For me, it was not really a shock. I just drove to what I already feel the whole weekend.”
Unexpected Red Bull Struggles Amid Strong Competition
This year has still seen moments of competitiveness from Verstappen, such as his sprint win at the Belgian Grand Prix where he outpaced title contenders from McLaren. However, qualifying at the Hungaroring revealed a stark contrast, with teams like Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Sauber all outperforming Red Bull’s cars.
Verstappen was visibly surprised by Red Bull’s performance gap this weekend. “No, not like this,” he responded when asked if he anticipated such difficulties.
“I never thought that it would be the strongest weekend for us here. But I think no one expected it.”
He acknowledged the shift in focus due to championship standings:
“We’re not fighting anymore in a championship battle. You just try to have good weekends here and there. This has clearly been a bad one so far.”
Race Prospects and Potential Battles on Sunday
Looking ahead to the race, Verstappen was aware that other drivers who qualified lower were expected to advance during the event. He noted,
“There are a few cars in front of me that I can maybe battle with a little bit,”
while he will start alongside Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto on the fourth row.
He also mentioned other notable drivers out of position, commenting,
“But also Lewis is still a bit further down the road, I think he shouldn’t be there. So he will come through a bit. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
