Max Verstappen described his qualification at the Red Bull Ring in Austria as a ‘painful experience’. The four-time world champion from Red Bull only managed to secure the seventh fastest time on Saturday afternoon, partly due to a yellow flag situation in the final stages of the qualifying session. “Everything went wrong,” he said.
Verstappen complained about balance issues with the car during the session, a sentiment he reiterated afterwards. “Every turn was a struggle. There was absolutely no balance, neither at the front nor the back, which prevented me from getting into my rhythm. Even in the final lap of Q3, when I had to abort my lap due to the yellow flag, I wouldn’t have come close to pole,” he said, resignation in his voice.
For his home race, Max Verstappen has few illusions. “I’m not expecting much. We’ve never performed better in the race this season than in the qualification. According to the forecasts, it’s even going to be warmer tomorrow than today, which usually exacerbates our problems. It doesn’t look good, but perhaps there’s a surprise in store,” he said.
