Verstappen says he cannot “understand how it can be this bad” after shock Q1 elimination in São Paulo qualifying

Written by Maham Mir

Max Verstappen was eliminated in Q1 | Credit: Formula One

Speaking to the media after his shock Q1 elimination in São Paulo, the first since Sochi 2021, Max Verstappen stated that he doesn’t “understand how it can be this bad” when discussing the performance of his RB21.

Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies told the media that the team had made some changes to Verstappen’s car between the end of the Sprint and the start of Grand Prix qualifying. However, the changes were unsuccessful and did not yield the desired results as both Red Bull drivers were eliminated in Q1.

Verstappen, who won last year’s Grand Prix at Interlagos from P17, revealed that he “couldn’t push at all” during his flying laps in the first part of qualifying. The radio messages between Verstappen and his race engineer revealed that although the changes had fixed some issues, they had hindered other parts of the car.

The reigning world champion, who recently reestablished himself as a true championship contender in 2025, was able to close the gap to Oscar Piastri down to 30 points after the sprint. However, the gap grew to 39 points between himself and the other McLaren who currently leads the championship, Lando Norris.  

Discussing the potential in the car, Verstappen clearly outlined that “it was just bad”. Following the trajectory of his weekend, it seems that Verstappen’s experience with the Red Bull is of two halves after a P4 finish in the Sprint earlier on Saturday. While the championship hopeful will be aiming to make his way through the field, the known pace of the Red Bull so far this weekend, and Verstappen’s own comments, don’t seem optimistic about being able to keep up with Mercedes and Ferrari.

With the team still locked in a tight battle in the World Constructors’ Championship with only 17 points separating Mercedes in second place [368 points] and Red Bull in fourth place [351 points], any advantage could make a huge difference come the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi.

Looking ahead to Sunday's Grand Prix, Verstappen will be hoping to find a way to extract pace from his otherwise difficult to handle Red Bull in order to make his way through the field. With Norris' McLaren heading the pack as he did for the Sprint earlier on Saturday, Verstappen will aim to find a way to disrupt Norris’ perfect weekend so far to continue to strengthen his own championship bid.