At Interlagos, Red Bull will start from the back of the grid after a disastrous qualifying session, raising questions about whether recent updates have been a step backward. Following the collapse in qualifying at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen sees his chances of challenging for the Drivers’ Championship sharply reduced. The Dutchman appears to surrender, aware that the RB21 may not suit Interlagos. “I can forget the Championship, we shouldn’t even talk about it anymore because it’s over,” he said. The reigning world champion also hit a new, negative milestone: being eliminated in Q1 for the first time in his career without any external factors, red flags, or incidents, and without a clear explanation.
According to De Telegraaf, Red Bull, on Verstappen’s own advice, decided to remove the upgrades brought to Mexico City following the disappointing Sprint Race, which saw him finish fourth. The qualifying disaster, leaving Max starting from 16th, came as a shock to everyone, even the driver himself, who had hoped to fight for higher positions by reverting to the previous GP setup used in the United States.
Setup issues: a slow Red Bull across all sectors
The Red Bull’s problems appear linked to a setup that may be too stiff and low, a concern also noted by technical director Pierre Waché. While this approach is commonly pursued by teams to maximize performance, pushing it too far risks bottoming out the car, losing grip, and compromising tire management.
Helmut Marko explained after qualifying that the RB21 was: “Slow only in the slow sector, whereas now we are slow throughout the lap. Initially, we only lost time in sector two, but now we lose it everywhere. It felt like we were cursed, the drivers could never find grip on the track.” This is a serious problem to resolve before the Brazilian GP, especially considering that Max Verstappen’s Red Bull lost nine-tenths of a second between the sprint and main qualifying sessions. According to AMuS, a potential solution could involve going all in: trying a completely different setup, installing a new power unit, and relying on the skill and talent of the reigning world champion to salvage the weekend.
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