Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen did not lash out at the Red Bull Racing team in his usual tone used to motivate engineers and mechanics. Instead, the Dutch driver appeared dejected and disheartened after qualifying at the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, as he explained that none of the adjustments made to the RB21 had yielded any positive results. According to Verstappen, the team failed to identify a clear development path, with the car lacking grip on both the front and rear axles throughout the session.
Red Bull Racing appears to be in a state of freefall. After the dismissal of long-time Team Principal Christian Horner earlier this season, it initially seemed that the team based in Milton Keynes had weathered the worst of the storm and could begin a period of recovery and reorganization. However, Saturday’s qualifying session at the Hungaroring suggested otherwise, exposing a team that appears to have lost its way completely—particularly on a high-downforce circuit like this one.
Max Verstappen had ended Friday’s Free Practice sessions in a concerning 14th place, and he had hoped that overnight simulator work could help turn things around. In the past, the engineering department led by Technical Director Pierre Waché had successfully recovered from poor Fridays with overnight improvements based on real-world data from the track. But this time, that turnaround did not materialize.
Verstappen could only manage eighth place in the final classification of the qualifying session, while his Red Bull Racing teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who has been struggling with consistency throughout the season, ended up down in 16th position. These are results far removed from a team that has won the last four consecutive World Championship titles with Max Verstappen at the helm.
“Nothing worked,” stated Verstappen bluntly, refusing to sugarcoat the team’s issues. He explained that driving the RB21 in qualifying felt like trying to control the car on an icy surface, with absolutely no grip at either end of the vehicle.
“From the very first lap of qualifying, I knew that things weren’t going to improve,” said Verstappen. “We tried a lot of setup changes, different directions, but nothing responded. That’s the biggest problem. Normally, when you make a major change to the car, you get some kind of feedback—either positive or negative. But this time, we got nothing. It’s like going around in circles without knowing what can actually be done to fix it.”
It is quite telling that a driver as ambitious as Max Verstappen was simply “satisfied” with reaching Q3—an achievement that, in other contexts, would be seen as a disappointment for a reigning World Champion.
“When you look at the full weekend, I think we should be happy to have at least made it into the top ten,” continued Verstappen. “Realistically, I was more outside of Q3 than inside. We had no grip, and after all the changes we tried, nothing improved. So I was prepared for a difficult qualifying session. For me, it wasn’t a shock—I just drove the car with the same bad feeling that I’ve had since the beginning of the weekend.”
Despite knowing that he will start the race behind cars from Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Aston Martin, and even Sauber, Max Verstappen remained composed. When asked if he had anticipated such a disastrous qualifying result, he responded: “No, not like this. I never imagined that we would have a weekend like this in Hungary. But I don’t think anyone in the team saw this coming. We’re no longer fighting for the World Championship. Right now, our only realistic objective is to build a few good races here and there, wherever we can.”
Verstappen also noted that he was not the only top driver out of position on the starting grid. Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, now driving for Scuderia Ferrari in 2025, could only manage 12th place in qualifying.
“There are a few cars ahead of me that I could realistically fight during the race,” admitted Verstappen, who will line up on the fourth row of the grid alongside the Sauber driven by rookie Gabriel Bortoleto. “Lewis Hamilton is even further back, and I think he shouldn’t be in that position either. So he’ll probably try to climb up through the field. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
Leave a Reply