Looking to set a new record of the most pole positions in a row on Saturday, instead of a ninth consecutive domination in qualifying, Max Verstappen left the paddock knowing he’ll have a tough race starting from P6 tomorrow.
Throughout the practice sessions, the three-time world champion struggled with the car and a street circuit full of kerbs and bumps — not even his exceptional skills saved him from brushing the walls more than once.
Still, practice is only for practice, and the Dutchman managed a great turnaround just last week in Imola where he placed on pole and won after initial challenges, so nothing was sure. However, the issues continued, and he didn’t get on that top starting spot for the first time since Qatar in November 2023.
Earlier this weekend, Verstappen already talked about the problems with the bumps and kerbs, but the team wasn’t able to fix it.
“Yeah, it’s just, we tried a lot of things on the car. Literally, nothing made it better. So then you’re just stuck. There’s not much you can do. We really tried to optimize it,” he admitted.
“We went softer, stiffer, everything, but the car is like a go-kart. It’s like I’m running without suspension. So it’s just jumping around a lot, not absorbing any kerb strikes or bumps or camber changes.
“It’s, I mean, the last corner, I think the amount of times that I almost jumped into the wall, it’s just really incredible. Yeah, it’s also not something new. We have had this problem since 2022.
“Of course, for the last two years, I think we had a car advantage. So then it gets masked a little bit because we gain in the corners where the kerbs and the bumps are not that much of a limitation, but with everyone catching up, naturally, when you’re not improving your weakest point, yeah, you get found out. That’s what happened this weekend.”
According to Verstappen, it’s a “fundamental problem, so it’s not something that will be fixed within weeks”. Just like he said, Red Bull had to deal with these things for a few years now, and it’s sort of inherent to the chassis.
The Dutch driver already had to fight for his win in Imola and podium in Miami more than what he’s used to from last season, when he was more than ten or fifteen seconds ahead of the whole grid for most of the year.
Asked if he expects more tracks on which Red Bull could fall behind, and if he’ll have to fight for lap times like today in the near future, Verstappen replied: “Yeah, for sure.”
“I mean, but already the last two, three races, of course, it has been incredibly difficult. But yeah, this is the worst case scenario, I would say, this kind of track.”
Even though the RB20 car was supposed to be fixing the weaknesses of the previous models, Verstappen emphasized several times that in terms of the bumps and curves, it’s not better or worse than in 2023 or 2022 — it’s the same.
Of course, part of the reason behind his Qualifying result is that in the final Q3 lap, he struck the wall at Sainte Devote. Could he find the three tenths he was missing to Charles Leclerc without making this costly mistake?
“I don’t know. I mean, I’m pushing flat out. The car is just super tricky. I went into turn one, suddenly I go over the bumps again and it just snaps on you. There’s nothing that was a big mistake, but the car is literally on a knife edge to drive, and it’s what it is.
“I felt quite comfortable in terms of, let’s say, medium to high speed. The car was quite quick, but everywhere where there are bumps, it was just jumping around a lot. So I’m just driving around that and trying to optimize everything.
“But everything was just really difficult to control. So I was surprised for most of the Qualifying that we were actually that close, but I guess some didn’t nail the lap yet or whatever.
“It’s always if, if, if, you know, you can always do better, but I’m not disappointed with my laps or trying to even improve more, because just look at where we are. We’re P18 and P6. Normally, Checo [Pérez] is always very good around the street circuit. He really comes alive there.
“I think that already says enough that he’s in that position. So I cannot be disappointed with P6, I mean, in that sense.”
Instead of being disappointed with his Qualifying results, the three-time world champion has to be focused on Sunday, when the points are ultimately scored, podiums placed and races won. Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner wants to “take the lessons out of today” and vows to “come back fighting”.
It’s not going to be the easiest day for the team, Horner also making his realistic predictions: “I think we’re going to be in a high-speed traffic jam for certainly the first 25% of the race, I would imagine.
“It is going to be a frustrating race, and the cars are so big here, that overtaking isn’t really on unless the car ahead makes a significant mistake.”
“Our race pace on the long runs was pretty good, but whether we will get to demonstrate that, I am not sure with how the traffic plays out,” the team principal concluded.
