Verstappen blasts ‘rubbish’ Sprint qualifying in Sao Paulo

Max Verstappen cut a frustrated figure after a difficult Sprint Qualifying at Interlagos left him only sixth on the grid – the Red Bull charger and championship contender describing his session as "just rubbish". 

The three-time world champion, normally a fixture at the sharp end, was left wrestling a car that seemed completely out of sorts on the newly resurfaced circuit.

After narrowly scraping into the top ten shootout by just one tenth, Verstappen was powerless to challenge for the front as McLaren’s Lando Norris took pole ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri.

No Grip, No Traction

“It was just rubbish,” Verstappen told Viaplay after the session.

“I had a lot of vibrations in the car and bounced all over the place. Other than that I just had no grip in the slow corners. The car wouldn't turn and I had no traction either, so that was it.”

The Dutchman’s radio messages during the session revealed his irritation early on, describing the RB21 as “completely broken” as he fought for stability through the bumpy, undulating Interlagos layout.

Despite a decent run on the hard tyres during Friday’s only practice session, the switch to the softs exposed a major imbalance that left him fighting for control rather than pole.

“On hard tyres I didn't feel those problems that much, but on the softs it was already not feeling good. And it was the same story in sprint qualifying,” he added.

Verstappen’s issues meant he could only manage sixth behind Fernando Alonso, and well off the pace of Norris – a stark contrast to his usual strong form.

Marko: ‘We don’t have enough downforce’

Red Bull’s senior advisor Helmut Marko was quick to single out the Rb21’s lack of downforce as the culprit for Verstappen’s underperformance.

With the setup now locked under parc fermé rules until after the Sprint, there’s little the team can do before the 24-lap dash on Saturday – which could be complicated further by rain.

“It’s basically no grip, which means we don’t have enough downforce, and that’s something which we can’t cure for the sprint race,” Marko told Sky. “But hopefully, with all the data we get, we can adapt and make it for the main race that we are more competitive.

“[If it rains] we hope for Max, he has to make the difference. Otherwise, he has no chance [to finish on the podium].”

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While Verstappen typically thrived in tricky, rain-soaked races – including famous drives at Interlagos – he wasn’t confident the weather would offer him any lifeline this time.

“I think it's quite clear that we are lacking something and I'm not expecting that suddenly to be miles better in the wet,” he admitted. “For us it's just quite poor.”

With the sprint set to run under stormy skies and his Red Bull short on grip, Verstappen faces an uphill battle – both against the elements and against a McLaren team that looks increasingly at ease on top.

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