Verstappen clueless on RB21 woes: ‘Every corner was a struggle’

Max Verstappen faced a frustrating qualifying session at the Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday, describing his Red Bull RB21 as “completely undriveable” as he secured only seventh place on the grid for Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring.

The four-time Formula 1 world champion struggled with persistent handling issues, compounded by yellow flags that disrupted his final Q3 run, leaving him unable to challenge for a front-row spot at Red Bull’s home circuit.

Verstappen’s difficulties were evident throughout the day, with the Dutchman noting a lack of grip and inconsistent car balance.

“I think yesterday already was not good over one lap, the long run wasn’t good and today FP3 was a little bit more positive but still off,” he told reporters.

“Then in qualifying basically everything felt bad. Every corner was a struggle, I just didn’t have the balance. It was either understeer or oversteer. Even every single lap that I did I had a bit of a different behaviour from the car so that’s not ideal.”

Struggles Beyond Upgrades

Verstappen dismissed suggestions that recent upgrades to the RB21 were solely responsible for his lackluster performance.

“I don’t want to talk about the upgrades because I think it was not only the upgrades that caused all this,” Verstappen stated.

He noted that the car’s performance took a significant step backward from final practice to qualifying, despite minimal changes.

“I didn’t touch the car” between FP3 and qualifying, he explained, adding that only “very tiny little changes that shouldn’t influence the car balance” were made.

However, external factors like higher track temperatures and increased wind exacerbated the issues.

“That’s all manageable but suddenly with the higher track temps and more wind, it just fell apart,” he concluded.

Verstappen’s teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, also faced challenges, exiting in Q1 and qualifying a distant 18th, underscoring Red Bull’s broader struggles at their home event.

Looking ahead to the race, Verstappen was pessimistic about his prospects.

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“Not a lot. Not to fight up front for sure,” he said when asked about expectations based on long-run data.

“For sure the hotter conditions they don’t help as well. So far this year we’ve not been more competitive in the race than qualifying as well. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

Engineer Switch Not to Blame

This weekend marks Verstappen’s first race without his long-time race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, who is absent for personal reasons. Simon Rennie has stepped in, but Verstappen downplayed any impact from the change.

“I knew that question was coming but I don’t think so. He did a good job so far this weekend,” Verstappen said of Rennie.

“I know Simon already for a long time. He’s been with the team already for a long time, so it’s not super weird. Of course I’m used to GP but Simon is also someone I have worked with a lot over the last years, in the simulator and meetings as well. So it’s nothing crazy.”

As Verstappen prepares for a challenging race day, Red Bull will need to regroup quickly to salvage points at their home Grand Prix.

With the RB21’s balance issues unresolved, the team faces an uphill battle to return to their dominant form.

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