Red Bull leaves qualifying at Suzuka with more questions than answers. The most striking result is Max Verstappen’s elimination already in Q2, a shocking outcome not only because of the stature of the four-time world champion, but also due to the way it unfolded. The Dutch driver himself described the car as “undriveable,” unable to provide confidence, especially through the high-speed sections of the Japanese circuit.
His final eleventh place, more than one second off the session’s benchmark time, paints the picture of an extremely difficult Saturday for Max Verstappen. He even finished behind his teammate Isack Hadjar, who managed to take the other Red Bull into Q3. This internal comparison carries significant weight, as it suggests that the issue goes beyond a single mistake or a missed setup window. At Suzuka, the RB22 appeared nervous, unpredictable, and far from the balance required to attack a circuit that demands absolute precision.
Verstappen’s frustration in Japan: “The car is undriveable again”
At the end of the session, Max Verstappen did not hide his frustration. “It did not go well. We thought we had fixed something in FP3, but once we went into qualifying everything became very difficult again,” he explained. According to the four-time world champion, the main issue was an unmanageable balance: “The car slides a lot, but at the same time it has no rotation in the middle of the corner, pretty much everywhere. That makes the balance very complicated. And here, that is not ideal at all.”
These words clearly illustrate the difficulty of dealing with a car that fails to provide consistent feedback. Suzuka, with its high-speed corners and the need to trust the rear end, is one of the most sensitive circuits in this regard. It is precisely there that Red Bull exposed all its weaknesses. Max Verstappen admitted that, compared to last season, the situation may have even worsened: “I think we have bigger problems than last year. At the moment there are parts of the car that are not working as we would like.”
The issue, therefore, does not seem to be limited to a simple setup mistake. Even the updates introduced in Japan failed to deliver the expected improvements. Red Bull arrived at Suzuka with visible modifications, including new sidepod inlets, a revised floor, and a different engine cover, but Max Verstappen did not feel any encouraging signs. “The car never rotates in the middle of the corner, but at the same time we have a lot of oversteer on entry. It is really difficult, unpredictable,” he said. He added: “There is still a lot of understeer in the car, but in qualifying, for me, it became undriveable again. It is something we need to analyze.”
Particularly significant was his reference to the aerodynamic package used during the Japanese weekend: “I am driving with a different aero package this weekend, but it seems like it is not working. And that is not very positive either.” This statement adds another layer of concern within the Red Bull garage, suggesting that the technical direction taken may not be delivering the expected results.
When asked to clarify what he meant by calling the car “undriveable,” Max Verstappen chose his words carefully: “We have some issues that I cannot explain in detail here, but we know they are there. Sometimes they are more present, sometimes less. And I think in qualifying they came back to a point where the car became undriveable.” His radio message during the session had already been quite clear: “I think something is wrong with the car. It is completely undriveable.”
Hadjar: “Scoring points will be difficult, I could barely turn the wheel”
The situation becomes even more interesting when looking at the comparison with Isack Hadjar. Despite managing to reach Q3 and finish ahead of his teammate, the French driver did not describe a competitive or easy-to-handle Red Bull. On the contrary, he also confirmed the presence of significant limitations.
“I knew it would be very difficult to reach Q3, considering what we had seen in free practice,” he explained. “The car in qualifying felt very different, not necessarily in a positive way, because it was still very difficult to drive, but it was better.”
Isack Hadjar also revealed that, realistically, his target had been seventh place, even if he considered it almost unattainable: “Seventh place was the target, even if it was almost impossible, but in the end we got close.” A result that leaves him only partially satisfied, because even looking ahead to the race, the French driver does not expect miracles.
“Scoring a point tomorrow, considering how tight the competition is, will be difficult. In the end, the real objective is not even to score points, but to understand how we can make the car faster.”
He added further details about his struggles behind the wheel: “I did my best and that gives me some satisfaction, but on my first qualifying lap I immediately thought I would end up in the wall. I was sliding everywhere. I could barely turn the wheel.”
This testimony reinforces the idea of an RB22 that is nervous and unstable, almost impossible to push to the limit. “This car is difficult to drive and it is slow. Lap after lap, session after session, you just have to guess what to expect. So no, it is not enjoyable at all.”
Red Bull uncertainty: “We do not know what solutions are needed”
Even when it comes to solutions, uncertainty dominates within Red Bull. Isack Hadjar, just like Max Verstappen and team principal Laurent Mekies, admitted that there is currently no clear explanation for the issues.
“No, at the moment we do not know,” he said.
This is perhaps the most concerning aspect to emerge from Suzuka. Not so much the single result, but the feeling that the team has not yet clearly identified the root cause of the problem. Max Verstappen had not lost a qualifying comparison to a teammate under equal conditions for a long time. The fact that this warning sign comes at a moment when Red Bull has introduced updates makes the situation even more delicate and potentially critical for the team moving forward.
The 2026 Japanese Grand Prix qualifying has therefore exposed deep-rooted stability issues within the Red Bull RB22, leaving both Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar battling a car they describe as “slow” and “undriveable.” Based on the content of today’s technical failure, the team faces an uphill struggle to find a baseline that can restore their drivers’ confidence.
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