Verstappen says Red Bull ‘going around in circles’ with unresponsive RB21

Max Verstappen delivered a grim assessment of Red Bull’s performance in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, insisting “nothing works” when it comes to setup changes to its unresponsive RB21.

The reigning world champion ended Q3 a lowly eighth and over three-tenths off polesitter Charles Leclerc’s pace, marking another stark regression for the Dutchman.

Verstappen’s struggles were evident from the outset in Budapest, with the Red Bull driver failing to crack the top nine in any practice session and teammate Yuki Tsunoda eliminated in Q1.

Reflecting on the team’s lackluster performance, Verstappen contrasted it with last year’s competitiveness.

“We were a lot more competitive back then,” he said. “This weekend, already from lap one, it just felt off. We threw the car around a lot, nothing really gave a direction.”

"Nothing works"

The core issue, according to Verstappen, lies in the RB21’s unresponsiveness to adjustments.

“That is the biggest problem,” he said. “Normally, when you change a lot on the side of it, it will always give you positives or negatives. Now, nothing works.

“It's like going around in circles. Nothing gives you any kind of idea of what to do,” he explained, highlighting the team’s inability to find a setup that improves performance.

When pressed on whether Red Bull had pinpointed a solution, Verstappen was predictably blunt.

“No, clearly not. Otherwise we would have changed it already. Somehow, this weekend, nothing seems to work.”

Red Bull’s lack of direction has left itl grappling with a car that offers no clear path forward.

Managing Expectations

Despite the disappointing result, Verstappen found a silver lining in simply reaching Q3, a testament to how dire Red Bull’s weekend has been.

“Looking at the whole weekend, I think we are happy to be in Q3,” he admitted. “Because I've been more outside of the top 10 than in.

“It’s been difficult this whole weekend. No grip, front and rear. It was the same in qualifying. For me, it was not really a shock. I just drove to what I already feel the whole weekend.”

Saturday marked another low point in a challenging 2025 season for Verstappen, who sits third in the championship standings.

While he has shown obvious flashes of brilliance at the wheel of the RB21, such as his sprint race victory over the McLaren duo in Belgium last weekend, Verstappen was taken aback by the extent of Red Bull’s struggles in Budapest.

“No, not like this,” he said when asked if he anticipated such difficulties. “I never thought that it would be the strongest weekend for us here. But I think no one expected it.

“We’re not fighting anymore in a championship battle. You just try to have good weekends here and there. This has clearly been a bad one so far.”

Looking to Sunday

Despite starting from eighth, Verstappen remains cautiously optimistic about his race prospects, noting that he’s not the only driver out of position, with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton – with whom he expects to battle – starting 12th

“There are a few cars in front of me that I can maybe battle with a little bit,” Verstappen said, sharing row four with Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto.

“But also Lewis is still a bit further down the road, I think he shouldn’t be there. So he will come through a bit. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

• Hungarian Grand Prix - Qualifying results

As Red Bull scrambles to understand the RB21’s woes, Verstappen faces an uphill battle on a Hungaroring circuit notorious for its overtaking challenges.

With Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Sauber all outpacing him in qualifying, Verstappen’s candid admission that “nothing works” underscores a troubling moment for the defending champion as he seeks to salvage his weekend.

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