Verstappen beyond ‘desperate’ as RB22 issues pile on in Hungary

Max Verstappen’s frustration with Red Bull’s unpredictable RB22 reached another boiling point at the Hungaroring, where the four-time world champion endured a miserable qualifying session and admitted he no longer knows what problem will appear next.

After hoping the tight and technical Budapest circuit might offer a more favourable environment for Red Bull, the reality proved painfully different. Verstappen could manage only sixth on the grid for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix, while his RB22 appeared increasingly difficult to control as qualifying progressed.

The Dutchman’s final flying lap ended in a spin at the last corner — a moment that perfectly captured his Saturday afternoon.

“The weekend has been difficult in general, but when instead of the tyres degrading, your car is degrading, then you have a big problem. So that's what's happening,” Verstappen said.

His frustration was already clear over team radio moments after the incident, as he struggled to explain the dramatic change in behaviour from his car.

“The car is just completely broken aerodynamically, it's just getting worse and worse. What a joke. What a joke honestly, what a shit weekend.”

Aerodynamic mystery leaves Max helpless

Speaking after qualifying, Verstappen explained that Red Bull had identified something unusual in the data but had not yet determined the exact cause. The bigger issue was that the problem appeared to worsen throughout the session, leaving him fighting a car that no longer responded as expected.

“The car just kept developing more oversteer and all the problems only got worse. I arrived at the final corner and the car just spun again. At one point, the car simply became impossible to drive,” he said.

The comments underline a growing concern for Red Bull: Verstappen’s difficulties have not come from one single weakness. Instead, every weekend seems to bring a new challenge, making it increasingly difficult for the team to establish a consistent direction.

Following earlier incidents linked to the controversial rotating rear wing, Verstappen insisted the current issue was something completely different – adding to his frustration.

“There's always something different happening. It's difficult for me to make sense of it, because I don't know exactly what the problem was myself,” he added.

“But it's clear that something was wrong again, because they already told me during qualifying that something wasn't right in the data and that they could see the aerodynamics deteriorating.

“That's obviously not what you want during qualifying, and by that point you can't even adjust the front wing anymore. Then the whole car is no longer in the right balance.”

‘Desperate? I’m already past that stage’

For a driver renowned for extracting the maximum from difficult machinery, Verstappen admitted the situation made it virtually impossible to find a workable setup window around the Hungaroring.

“Well, that's basically impossible,” the Dutchman claimed. “This weekend has been very difficult and qualifying was just completely hopeless. There was absolutely nothing you could do with it.”

The most revealing moment came when Verstappen was asked whether facing a different problem every weekend was becoming desperate. His response suggested frustration had already moved beyond that point.

“No, no, desperate? That word doesn't even exist for me anymore,” he said. “I'm already past that stage. We just let it go and try again tomorrow.”

For Verstappen, disappointment has become an all-too-familiar feeling this season. Now even desperation appears to have been crossed off the list — leaving only the hope that another difficult Saturday can somehow turn into a more productive Sunday.

Hungarian Grand Prix - Qualifying results

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