Max Verstappen criticizes ‘undriveable’ Red Bull after dramatic qualifying performance

Max Verstappen has unleashed a scathing critique of his own Red Bull car, labeling it “undriveable” following a disheartening qualifying session at the Japanese Grand Prix. In a shocking twist for the reigning champion, who has dominated the Suzuka circuit in recent years, he found himself out of Q2—an unprecedented outcome after securing pole position in his last four appearances at this iconic track. The culprit behind Verstappen’s qualifying disaster? None other than rookie driver Arvid Lindblad, who narrowly edged past the four-time champion, leaving Verstappen to start the race from a disappointing 11th place.

The situation worsened for Verstappen as he watched his teammate, Isack Hadjar, qualify ahead of him in eighth, while Lindblad claimed the tenth spot. This sequence of events follows a troubling trend for Verstappen, who faced a similar fate just months ago during the Australian Grand Prix, and only managed an eighth-place start in the previous race in China. The struggles with the new generation of Formula 1 cars seem to have no end in sight for Verstappen, raising questions about Red Bull's competitiveness this season.

“The car never turns mid-corner,” Verstappen lamented in an interview with Sky Sports F1, capturing the frustration of a champion used to battling at the front. He described his experience on the track this weekend as fraught with oversteer during entry, making the car feel unpredictable and difficult to handle. Despite efforts to rectify the issues during Free Practice 3, he found himself grappling with persistent understeer, ultimately concluding that in qualifying, the car felt “undriveable.”

When pressed for more details about what he meant by “undriveable,” Verstappen revealed that there are underlying problems with the car that are difficult to articulate. “We have problems I cannot explain in detail here that we know are there, sometimes a bit worse than other times. In qualifying, it just came back to a point where it was undriveable,” he explained, hinting at the complexity of the issues plaguing his performance. As the race weekend unfolds, fans and analysts alike will be on the edge of their seats, watching to see if Verstappen can overcome these challenges and reclaim his position among the elite at Suzuka.