After surprising even himself with third place in sprint qualifying, Verstappen’s qualifying session for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix turned into a major disappointment.
For the first time since Baku 2024, Verstappen was beaten by a team-mate in Q3 – back then it was Sergio Perez, this time it was Isack Hadjar, who finished one-and-a-half tenths ahead.
However, Verstappen already felt during qualifying that something was wrong with Red Bull’s 2026 power unit, known as the DM01.
“It’s getting worse and worse, it’s quite impressive,” Verstappen said sarcastically over the team radio.
Speaking to the Dutch media in the paddock afterwards, the four-time world champion explained the issues he encountered in the RB22.
“The balance in the car wasn’t good anyway, but it wasn’t good yesterday either,” he said. “So in that respect nothing really changed. The difference today was that we had no top speed on my side of the garage.
“Simply no top speed on any of the straights. That naturally means you use more battery as well because you’re at full throttle for longer, and then by the final sector it becomes a complete disaster.”
Max Verstappen says he was trapped in a vicious cycle during F1 qualifying at Silverstone
Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
Verstappen explained that by the time he exited Stowe, he had virtually no electrical power left, causing him to lose significant time throughout the final sector on every attempt.
It effectively became a vicious circle. Because of the lack of outright power, he had to rely more heavily on MGU-K deployment, while spending longer at full throttle also meant he recovered less energy. Combined, those factors cost him time on the straights and resulted in a painful final sector.
“The engine just isn’t working,” he added. “It doesn’t pull like it normally does. As a driver, you can feel that. And because of that, we’re simply too slow on every straight.”
According to Verstappen, the issue was not present during the sprint race, leaving him unable to explain why it suddenly appeared during qualifying for the British Grand Prix.
Asked by Motorsport whether he had tried different throttle inputs or settings to mask some of the problem, the Dutchman replied: “Yes, everything.
“I literally tried everything during qualifying, but it doesn’t make any difference in terms of top speed. You might be a bit quicker on one straight, but then you’re slower on another. Overall, you’re still simply way too slow.”
Max Verstappen got beaten by a team-mate in Q3 for the first time since Baku 2024
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Will Red Bull break parc ferme for power unit and set-up changes?
That leaves Red Bull with two key questions on Saturday evening. First, team principal Laurent Mekies confirmed after qualifying that the team will investigate the root cause of the issue.
Depending on the outcome of that investigation, Red Bull must decide whether Verstappen will complete the British Grand Prix with the current power unit or potentially break parc ferme to fit a new one and change the car’s set-up as well.
Verstappen already has a clear preference: “There’s actually no point racing like this tomorrow, if we keep the car the same.
“I’d rather change everything. If you start from where we are now, you’re going to stay around there anyway. You might lose one more position, and that’s about it. So from that point of view, I’d much rather change things.”
Should Red Bull opt for a pitlane start, the team would be free to alter the car’s set-up – although the changes made between the sprint race and qualifying did not produce the desired result.
“I mean, in the sprint race, we were getting destroyed in the very high-speed [corners],” Verstappen said.
“I had George behind me and he was catching me in dirty air through the high-speed corners. So that says quite a lot.
“But even in the low-speed, I’m just not happy with how the car has been handling the whole weekend. So, yeah, it’s a clear disconnect.”
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